ST. LOUIS- Aiming to capitalize on the St. Louis region’s ties to aerospace, geospatial, bioscience and agriculture tech, political leaders on Tuesday broke ceremonial ground on a North St. Louis facility that what will one day be a hub of manufacturing technology, workforce development, and, they hope, economic growth around the region.

What You Need To Know

  • Political leaders broke ceremonial ground on the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center that what will one day be a hub of manufacturing technology, workforce development

  • Expected to open in 2025, it will house manufacturing and lab space, and a community “maker space”

  • The Biden administration sent Joelle Gamble, Deputy Director of the White House National Economic Council to St. Louis for the event

  • Officials estimate the facility will cost between $55-$60 million. $40 million has already been pledged

The 150,000 square foot Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center will be built in the Vandeventer neighborhood just east of the Ranken Tech campus at Finney and Newstead in North St. Louis. Expected to open in 2025, it will house manufacturing and lab space, and a community “maker space.”

“Can you imagine kids being able to walk over here after school or ride their bikes through this neighborhood to go play with a 3D printer or see what ideas they can make up, all here in their neighborhood?” said St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones. “I don't know about you, but that's really exciting for me because I didn’t have those kinds of opportunities growing up and we’re going to make sure our kids take full advantage of this facility.”

Officials estimate the facility will cost between $55-$60 million. The project received seven million dollars through federal American Rescue Plan Act funding, along with $15 million in state funds which also came via American Rescue Plan Act funds, $15 million in tax credits from the city of St. Louis, and $10 million so far in private sector donations. The rest could come from a combination of public and private sources.

The American Rescue Plan Act passed in 2021 with no GOP support in Congress. President Biden has often joked to critics, “we’ll see you at the groundbreaking.”

On Tuesday, the Biden administration sent Joelle Gamble, Deputy Director of the White House National Economic Council to St. Louis for the event.

“We always appreciate you, especially when you’re bringing money. We always like that which makes days like that more pleasant,” Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said to a chorus of laughter. While Democrats have accused Republicans of hypocrisy for praising projects funded through a bill the party opposed, Parson said the difference with this project is that it involves a partnership with multiple parties contributing.

“That’s the way I believe things should work. We should all be partners and have a little stake in the game to make sure these things become better, that we give an example for other businesses coming here,” Parson said. 

“It’s truly amazing to see what can happen when we put aside divisive politics and work together to move our region forward,” said State Sen. Brian Williams, D-University City.