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Approximately 400 guests, including state and local politicians, military leaders, residents, NGA employees, business representatives, and federal intelligence officials, attended the Nov. 26 groundbreaking ceremony for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) project.
The 1 million square foot, 100-acre, 3,100 initial jobs, $1.75-billion new western HQ for the NGA, at the heart of the 1,500-acre mixed-use NorthSide Regeneration Development in North St. Louis, is being touted in the national media as a signal of both St. Louis' prospective emergence as a Global Geospatial-Intelligence Hub and as a nationally significant breakthrough in urban revitalization of the long-neglected and disinvested North St. Louis community.
"NGA Breaks Ground On Nearly $2 Billion Western Headquarters In North St. Louis." | St. Louis Public Radio
The new NGA HQ and the surrounding 1,500-acre NorthSide Regeneration Development are adjacent to downtown St. Louis and are connected to Downtown via the several block-long "Gigabyte Corridor" along North Tucker Blvd --- which includes the adaptive reuse now under construction at the former Post-Dispatch Building by Square Co-Founders Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, which will become home for 1,400 square workers, and The Globe Building, the 500,000 square foot high tech anchor.
"St. Louis Gigabyte Corridor" | 2019
The Globe Building has already attracted national and international geospatial-intelligence firms such as MAXAR and T-Kartor in recent months. Sweden-based T-Kartor has opened its North American HQ in The Globe Building.
Examples of national media coverage following the NGA HQ groundbreaking includes reporter John Jordan's article in GlobeSt:.com:
“Construction Begins on $1.75B National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency HQ in St. Louis | GlobeSt. The NorthSide Regeneration is a 1,500-acre mixed-use development led by McKee and his real estate development company M Property Services to revitalize blighted North St. Louis City.”
St. Louis now has the opportunity to emulate the broad-based civic collaboration over the past 19+ years in its BioBelt Plant & Life Sciences Strategy, which now has advanced St. Louis to become one of the top biotech regions in the nation.
"St. Louis Named “One of the Fastest Growing and Top Ranked Emerging Life Sciences Markets in the U.S.” | March 31, 2019
It's time to join forces as a community to fulfill this immense new potential, just as we did back in 2000 in making St. Louis into a national BioBelt Plant & Life Sciences leader!
----- Dick Fleming, CEO, Community Development Ventures< Inc., CIC@4220, CORTEX Innovation Corridor