Big changes are now underway in downtown St. Louis—with the groundwork being laid for even bigger ones in the decades to come.
In 2026, the Gateway Arch Park Foundation and the National Park Service together plan to explore land acquisition, environmental testing, and a visioning study looking at expanding the national park across the Mississippi River into East St. Louis. An Illinois component was always a part of Eero Saarinen’s vision for the site. Now, says Gateway Arch Park Foundation executive director Ryan McClure, it feels like the idea has new momentum.
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McClure has also been helping push forward a conversation about exploring alternatives for the section of I-44 that separates the Arch grounds from the rest of downtown St. Louis—an idea he first publicly floated on The 314 Podcast this past summer. With the Congressman William L. Clay Sr. Bridge (better known as the Poplar Street Bridge) on track for a major work beginning in 2040, the idea of removing a section of highway, or further capping it, has new feasibility. A Dec. 5 meeting of representatives including the Missouri Department of Transportation, the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, and the City of St. Louis suggested real excitement about that idea, too.
“I can tell you, the energy towards this concept is palpable,” McClure says. “I mean, MoDOT is just an incredible partner to work with on this, and they’re really willing to take a look at this.”
In anticipation of a public-private partnership along the lines of the CityArchRiver project that capped a small portion of the highway and renovated the Arch grounds, McClure says his nonprofit will work to raise money for an economic impact study exploring the various alternatives to the highway’s current placement; MoDOT will conduct a traffic study to that same end. The goal is for both studies to take place in 2026.
Andrew Gates, a spokesman for MoDOT, confirmed that the agency is on board for the exploration. “MoDOT is in the very early stages of a study in the downtown area; there are a lot of changes coming to the downtown area (to include investments in the Poplar and MLK bridges),” he wrote. “MoDOT has had a lot of success with public-private partnerships and we are excited to work with various partners in the area to see how to best take advantage of those changes.”
The prospect of those two major undertakings is simply the latest evidence to McClure that downtown is shaking off its pandemic doldrums for new ideas, new investment, and new life. The 12-year CityArchRiver project officially concluded this past May with the reopening of the Old Courthouse, an event that drew significant national attention. Demolition began on the neighboring Millennium Hotel in November, with plans underway for a sparkling $670 million mixed-use revamp. Construction for that could begin as early as 2027; in the meantime, Kiener Plaza will also see a revamp.
“When people sit in Busch Stadium next year watching Cardinal games, they will see the North Tower of the Millennium Hotel coming down. There will be a crane in the air next baseball season,” McClure says. “That’s progress.”
Cardinals attendance was down significantly last season—but downtown is drawing big crowds nevertheless. Sunrise yoga was a popular event at Kiener Plaza through the summer and fall. The Gateway Arch Park Foundation was able to keep crowds coming to the Arch even during the long government shutdown by opening for the first time using private funds. And this month, McClure says Winterfest has drawn record attendance with ice skating sessions and igloos both regularly selling out.
“If you haven’t been downtown recently, come,” he says. “Come to Winterfest. Come to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in January. Go to a Blues games, go to all the things that are happening downtown. Go to the restaurants. It will change your mind about what’s happening here.”
Increasingly, McClure is seeing locals put their money where their mouth is when it comes to supporting the neighborhood. In addition to corporate support, and support from major philanthropists, the Gateway Arch Park Foundation has come to rely on individual gifts. McClure says they’re hoping to top 1,000 members by year’s end. “That’s a big deal for us,” he says.
Hear Fenske’s interview with McClure on The 314 Podcast.
