First Project In McKee’s NorthSide Regeneration Project Completed
Date Posted: April 1, 2019
Posted In: Projects,
From St. Louis Public Radio: The GreenLeaf Market at the intersection of North Tucker Boulevard and North 13th Street will open this month.
At a ribbon-cutting event on Monday (April 1), those behind the project said it was the first grocery store built on the north side since 1968. It is also the first project developer Paul McKee has completed in his massive NorthSide Regeneration plan after more than a decade.
The market will open April 13. Across the street, the ZOOM convenience store and gas station opened in October. The two buildings mark a total investment of more than $20 million and the creation of 72 jobs in north St. Louis.
McKee said the project serves as a catalyst for the rejuvenation of the area, which will eventually include the new $1.75 billion National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency West headquarters.
“Look around, you’ll see, you’ll see 60 percent of them are people of color,” McKee said Monday during a ribbon cutting for the grocery store. “And the majority of them come from the community as well. It’s a big deal to us today. This is their market.”
Alderwoman Tammika Hubbard represents that area of the city. She says the project, especially the grocery store, fills a need for economic development and healthy food options in the area.
“We are currently residing in a food desert,” she said. “It has been a community that experienced 60 years of disinvestment. We haven’t had a grocery story in a generation.”