ST. LOUIS — St. Louis-area projects secured millions of dollars from the $1.7 trillion federal government funding package that passed Congress before Christmas.
According to the office of U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) the following projects he championed were included in the legislation:
- $49.3 million for the Navigation & Ecosystem Sustainability Program, which aims to restore the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway;
- $4.5 million for BJC Behavioral Health, with funding for facilities and equipment to expand behavioral health services;
- $4 million for Saint Louis University, with funding for facilities and equipment for a health sciences and public health building;
- $3.5 million for BJC St. Louis Children's Hospital, with funding for behavioral health children's emergency room facilities and equipment;
- $3.1 million for Harris-Stowe State University, with $2 million for STEM building construction and equipment to expand education opportunities for health care, research and analytics, and $1.1 million to upgrade IT equipment;
- $1 million for Webster University, with funding for technology upgrades to supports its master's programs;
- And $2.5 million for the Brickline Greenway Project, a 12.6-mile greenway that aims to connect Forest Park to the Gateway Arch and provide connections to Fairground and Tower Grove parks.
St. Louis' primary business group, Greater St. Louis Inc., also said the bill includes $1.25 million to its foundation for a program called "Strengthening Downtown St. Louis Public Safety"; $3.75 million to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department for the "St. Louis Regional Violent Crime Initiative"; and $685,000 for the city of St. Louis' 911 Dispatch System. Greater St. Louis CEO Jason Hall thanked U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-St. Louis) and Blunt "for their hard work in securing these public safety investments."
Bush, whose office said House members were allowed to request funding for up to 15 community projects, touted other St. Louis projects she supported that were included in the bill:
- $3 million for Power4STL, a nonprofit promoting "holistic healing from trauma related to bullet injuries and overdose," with funds for facilities and equipment;
- $1.5 million for A Red Circle, a Wellston nonprofit, for its family resource center called North County Community Nexus;
- $750,000 for the Boys and Girls Clubs capital projects;
- $2.4 million for the Center for Economic Advancement at Covenant House Missouri;
- $750,000 for the renovation of the Dunbar Gardens apartment complex in Kinloch;
- $70,000 for student mental health and anti-violence programs at the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri;
- $3 million for an initial phase of Better Family Life's LifeHouse;
- $1.8 million for the Life Housing Project;
- $990,000 for public Wi-Fi for St. Louis Housing Authority residents;
- $380,000 for Seed St. Louis for STEM education programs;
- $1 million for SSM Health's St. Mary's Hospital for facilities and equipment;
- $252,713 for career and technical education programs in construction trades, including scholarships for a technical college program, at Saint Louis Public Schools;
- $1 million for the United Auto Workers' Labor Employment and Training Corp, for job training in the automotive services industry;
- And $750,000 for plaza improvements for the Urban League.
Bush said she had partnered with grassroots organizations, nonprofits and local governments to secure the funding.
"I appreciate the partnership of state and local leaders who have been great advocates in this process, and I look forward to seeing the positive impact these projects will have in our state," Blunt said.
Click here to read the full story from the St. Louis Business Journal.
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