SLDC Receives 17 Submissions for  Economic Development Strategy

St. Louis, MO- The St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) recently posted an RFQ for a consultant to lead the City and SLDC through the process of creating an Economic Development Strategy. The purpose of the Strategy is to position the City on the path toward a resilient economy.

SLDC is pleased to announce that it has received 17 total submissions. SLDC staff developed selection criteria to use when evaluating the proposals and will review all of the proposals and provide scores for each applicant.

Jon Ferry, Financial Analyst & Project Manager for SLDC stated. “the selection criteria was very detailed and each respondent needed to show the ability to cast the vision that SLDC, the City and its public, private and institutional partners could coalesce around and act upon to drive investment and growth in the City."

The Economic Development Strategy (EDS) responses needed to answer three main questions:

1. Where are we? (What is our current economic base?)

2. Which direction should we go? (What are the opportunities for economic base expansion and what can we do to more fully share the benefits of economic growth across all the city's neighborhoods?)

3. How do we get there?

The submission also needed to address five major sections listed out in the “Scope of Work” which were:

1. Assessment, Benchmarking & Evaluation,

2. Market & Industry Cluster Analysis,

3. Neighborhood Economic Nodes (Place-Based Growth Strategy),

4. Recommendations & Best Practices and

5. Implementation.

The Selection Committee is scheduled to meet next Friday, July 27th at 2 pm to discuss the proposals and make recommendations for the top firms, who the committee wishes to be invited to submit a full proposal. The staff has recommended a limit of five, but the final number is up to the committee's discretion.

About the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC)

St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) is an umbrella, not-for-profit corporation organized under Chapter 355 of the Missouri State Statutes with the mission of fostering economic development and growth in the City of St. Louis by stimulating the market for private investment in City real estate and business development and improve the quality of life for everyone who lives in, works in, and visits the City.  The mission of the SLDC is to stimulate the market for private investment in City real estate and business development and improve the quality of life for everyone who lives in, works in, and visits the City of St. Louis. If there are questions, please contact John Parker, Director of Corporate Communications and Media at 314-363-1102 or email him at parkerj@stlouis-mo.gov