New + Found Makes $15M Bet on St. Louis’ Central Corridor
Date Posted: July 30, 2026
Posted In: News, Projects, What we are thinking about,
From St. Louis Post-Dispatch: After helping reshape Midtown with City Foundry STL, developer New + Found has launched a $15 million fund to jump-start other real estate projects in St. Louis’ central corridor.
The St. Louis Growth and Impact Fund aims to invest in projects that “fill in the gap” from downtown St. Louis to Forest Park with housing, retail and other development that can improve the quality of life for residents, founder and CEO Steve Smith said.
The fund can produce $300 million worth of development by reducing the risk of investment for other developers with an additional source of capital, he said.
The St. Louis Growth and Impact Fund will provide early seed funding for central corridor developers. New + Found expects developers to utilize other financing, including debt and public subsidies, to further grow the investment. Smith also hopes the new projects will help spur investment in other parts of the region.
The goal is to leverage the billions of dollars invested in the central corridor since the early 2000s by creating more investment, opportunity and, Smith hopes, a better narrative for the region.
“We’re only going to invest in projects that make financial sense,” Smith said, “projects that we believe will have an impact on improving St. Louis’ reputation.”
The goal is to leverage the billions of dollars invested in the central corridor since the early 2000s by creating more investment, opportunity and, Smith hopes, a better narrative for the region.
“We’re only going to invest in projects that make financial sense,” Smith said, “projects that we believe will have an impact on improving St. Louis’ reputation.”
The fund’s focus on the central corridor boils down to the anchor institutions across eight square miles: Cortex, top universities like Washington University and St. Louis University, healthcare organizations and cultural institutions, including the Art Museum, Gateway Arch, even St. Louis’ professional sports teams, which are all based downtown.