Stenger Pledges $1 Million for 39 North Funding
Date Posted: March 28, 2017
Posted In: Projects,
From St. Louis Business Radio: St. Louis County has pledged $1 million as a local match to leverage $4 million in potential federal funding to build a new interchange at Olive and Lindbergh boulevards in Creve Coeur for 39 North, the agtech innovation district officials unveiled in December.
The $1 million pledge will come from the county Department of Transportation and Public Works, which has a fiscal 2017 budget of $36.7 million. St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger said the county money will be committed even if the project fails to win some or all of the federal funding. “It’s a very strong local match with a regional impact,” Stenger said. “We’re committed to this project and moving it forward, one way or the other.”
He pledged the $1 million through the interchange’s March 2 application submitted to the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, the regional planning agency that approves metro-area transportation projects using federal funds. Stenger and Creve Coeur Mayor Barry Glantz serve on East-West Gateway’s board of directors. If approved, the $4 million in federal funding would be awarded later this year, officials said.
“We’ve gotten a lot of attention (for 39 North), and a delegation from Argentina will come here in the next couple of months” to tour the innovation hub, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership CEO Sheila Sweeney said.