ST LOUIS, MO - Getty Images
The legendary Judy Garland achieved one of her career highlights in the MGM classic Meet Me in St. Louis in 1944, just five years after receiving her only Academy Award for her timeless performance as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.
Meet Me in St. Louis recounted the story of the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. 1904 was a banner year for the city of St. Louis, as it hosted both a World’s Fair and the 1904 Summer Olympics. In its heyday following the U.S. Civil War, St. Louis had emerged as a major port and the 4th largest city in the United States, a position that it continued to hold through the time of the 1904 World’s Fair. St. Louis had been a great hub of transport and innovation for more than half a century, but in the years between 1950-2010, the city’s population declined 62.7% to a position where it now ranks 64th in size among U.S. cities.
So, it is with hope and fresh excitement that St. Louis is embarking on an innovation renaissance, embodied in the spirit of the Cortex Innovation Community. With the development of the Cortex Innovation Community, St. Louis is once again being recognized for its pioneering spirit – this time in creating Urban Innovation Districts. Visioning for Cortex began in 2005 with development of a master plan to develop 200-acres of land in the City of St. Louis between St. Louis University in the East and Washington University in St. Louis to the West.
According to Hank Webber, executive vice chancellor for administration at Washington University in St. Louis, and chair of the board of directors of Cortex, the innovation center is serving as the center for “revival of a great midwestern city”. Webber notes that Cortex has forged “an attractive culture of innovation and ideas that represent the future of technology innovation districts”.
Cortex represents a bold vision for the future in advancing the St. Louis regional economy as a center for technology innovation. Now home to the operations of 425 companies and institutional tenants employing 6,000 workers, Cortex has emerged as a leading hub for entrepreneurial, existing industry, and institutional R&D and innovation activity. Cortex is projected to grow to 15,000 permanent jobs and house over 600 companies. The regional impact is expected to exceed 20,000 jobs for the greater St. Louis economy.
The Cortex Innovation Community was founded by institutions deeply engaged in research. A stated goal of Cortex from the outset has been to capture the commercial benefits of university and regional corporate research for St. Louis. Andrew D. Martin is Chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis, which has been a pivotal supporter of Cortex from its inception. Martin notes, “We are proud to have been a founding anchor of — and a long-time investor in — the Cortex Innovation Community. Over the course of the past decade, companies that previously might not have thought about locating to St. Louis have made their homes in, and found their footings at Cortex, which has helped to elevate our entire region”.
Cortex remains well positioned to access research at area universities, while providing a home for intensive R&D operations across a range of companies — from early-stage start-ups to major R&D ventures of global corporations. Innovation activity is reflected in part by intellectual property (IP) data registrations. Cortex businesses have realized 259 patents since 2010. As states and municipalities across the U.S. attempt to spark Technology Based Economic Development (TBED) with mixed results, Cortex stands out as a shining example.
Today, Cortex is home to a broad range of organizations and associated programs that serve to incubate, accelerate, advise and support new business ventures and entrepreneurial leadership, which includes a Center for Emerging Technologies, and Bio Generator and Capital Innovators. Among the core disruptive technologies that Cortex are focusing on are Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Cyber Security, Geospatial, Block Chain, FinTech, and advanced Bio Tech. Cortex corporate tenants include Microsoft, Express Scripts, Mastercard, Boeing, and DuPont.
The FinTech innovation firm, Square, was among the earliest tenants of Cortex. In July 2019, Square announced that it had signed a 15-year lease that will allow the Silicon Valley firm that was co-founded by St. Louis natives Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey to more than double their workforce in St. Louis. Dorsey commented, “St. Louis has been an amazing home and partner to us. This city has so much energy, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it”. Dorsey noted that he would like to see software engineers eventually comprise 40% of the St. Louis workforce. Jim McKelvey concluded, “St. Louis is full of talent and economic opportunity, so it should come as no surprise that we’re continuing to grow in our hometown”.
With over $950 million in investment and growing to 4 million square feet of space, Cortex has emerged as a dynamic mixed-use environment and a rising hub for small and large technology ventures which is fueling an innovation renaissance for St. Louis. Chancellor Martin summarizes, “Working together with our partners, we will provide strong support for startups, increase our city’s entrepreneurial capacity, and help grow well-paying tech jobs for all members of our community.”
A city with a proud history of innovation is again on the move. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh thrilled the world by completing the first transatlantic solo flight – a moment akin to the Moon Landing of a generation later. The pioneering spirit of the city lives on in the name of his single-engine plane — The Spirit of St. Louis.
