Building-Ready Sites Top Wish List for St. Louis’ Chief Marketer
Date Posted: December 19, 2023
Posted In: Organizations, People,
From St. Louis Post-Dispatch: When I asked St. Louis’ chief salesperson about the region’s biggest need, she didn’t focus on crime or government inefficiency or the other negatives that grab local headlines.
At the top of Maggie Kost’s wish list, rather, is land. Specifically, she said she could win more job-creating investments — and better compete with places like Nashville and Austin — if she had more development-ready sites, complete with utilities and other infrastructure, to show to expansion-minded companies.
Kost joined Greater St. Louis Inc. six months ago as chief business attraction officer, giving up a cabinet-level state position as head of the Missouri Department of Economic Development. In an interview last week, she explained that she had accomplished a key goal of allocating most of Missouri’s $2.7 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds, and she wanted to move closer to family.
Kost, who grew up in Godfrey, also relished the chance to help her hometown region. “I couldn’t step back and watch St. Louis and not have a more active role,” she said. “I want to be part of the resurgence and bring my knowledge and expertise to help rebuild this community.”
Greater St. Louis Inc. was formed three years ago through a merger of five civic groups, and Kost is the third person to fill its key business-attraction position. She follows veteran Steve Johnson, who retired last year, and Steven Pearce, who was here for eight months before returning to Charlotte for family reasons.
The competition for jobs has changed, Kost said. She’s seeing fewer potential deals than her predecessors did, but more of them are giant projects, sometimes involving billions of dollars in investment.