After decades of drift, the troubled city has a chance to restore public order and competitiveness.

After a tumultuous decade marked by civic unrest, violent crime, and economic decline, St. Louis may be eyeing a resurgence.

Accelerated partly by last year’s deadly tornado, the city is trying to rebuild its way out of a self-inflicted urban doom loop. Business leaders are speaking openly about execution and standards, and public officials appear increasingly aligned on economic competitiveness. “We’re having to build relationships where they didn’t exist before and come to the table again and again,” said Mayor Cara Spencer, elected last year. She described a region “coming together in ways” she hasn’t seen before. Spencer’s emphasis on redevelopment and reducing red tape for business owners marks a sharp contrast with the approach of her progressive predecessor, Tishaura Jones, who sought to punish business owners for crimes committed on or near their properties.

The riverfront illustrates the shift. For decades, land north and south of the Gateway Arch had hardened into industrial blight, with vacant factories, abandoned warehouses, and weed-choked lots visible to anyone flying into the airport.

Now a private redevelopment effort south of the Arch—dubbed “Gateway South”—aims to transform 100 acres of desolate land at the crossroads of river, rail, and interstate into an industrial, residential, and cultural hub. At one of the Midwest’s most strategic transportation junctions, 15 miles south of the Missouri–Mississippi confluence, developers envision the area becoming America’s “construction capital,” with a cluster of contractors, suppliers, and logistics firms.

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