Cortex Innovation Community

In 1998, William Henry Danforth, former chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis, sought to help the region better build upon its strengths in medicine and plant sciences. He formed the Coalition for Plant and Life Sciences, now known as BioSTL,[6] which led to the creation of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.

Danforth and John Dubinsky, CEO of financial consulting firm Westmoreland Associates and the eventual chairman of the Cortex board, went to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to study Kendall Square, a noted innovation district, to see how the concept could be used in St. Louis.[2]

The idea was to create a district where companies could have access to talent, new technology, labs, and intellectual property.

The Midtown neighborhood was selected because the founding institutions are nearby and millennials wanted to live and work in the nearby urban areas.[2][12][1]

In 2002, Cortex was founded as a 501(c) 3 tax-exempt organization[13][1] by Washington University, BJC HealthCare (BJC), University of Missouri – St. Louis (UMSL), St. Louis University (SLU), and the Missouri Botanical Garden.[2] These founders contributed a total of $29 million to buy land and serve as collateral for loans: Washington University, $15 million; BJC and SLU, $5 million apiece; and UMSL, $4 million.[2]

The Cortex West Redevelopment Corporation was classified by the city under Missouri statute Chapter 353 as a master developer of the district. St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay allowed Cortex to redevelop the area broadly in the "public interest" by issuing tax abatements and using eminent domain.[2][1]

Cortex hired CEO Dennis Lower, who executed a plan called Cortex 2.0 and converted the district from strictly bioscience to an open mixed-used district and added support for startup technology companies.[14]

In summer 2014, Square, the payments company set up by St. Louis natives Jim McKelvey and Jack Dorsey, opened offices at Cortex 4240.[14]

In 2015, Ikea opened in Cortex.[14]

In 2018, Microsoft opened its first Midwest headquarters in Cortex building 4220.[12]

In fall 2018, once Venture Cafe Innovation Hall opens at the 4220 Building in Cortex, 23 City Blocks Hospitality Group's restaurant and cafe, The Chocolate Pig will open.[15]

In June 2018, AON announced it would move 200 employees to the 4220 building.[16]

In March 2020, Washington University School of Medicine announced the construction of a new $616 million, 11 story, 609,000-square-foot neuroscience research building which will sit at the eastern edge of the Medical Campus in the Cortex Innovation Community. Construction of the building is set to be finished in 2023.[17]

One of the primary companies building Cortex is Wexford, which had as of 2018 developed three properties and a total of 536,903 square feet.[18]

• After 14 years, Cortex was credited with $500 million of investment and 3,800 technology jobs.[1]
• Installation of MetroLink light-rail station called "Cortex station".[19][20][21]
• Over 370 companies are based in Cortex.[1]
• 4220 is a $53 million building that houses Microsoft and Innovation Hall, a 13,800-square-foot space based upon Venture Café’s District Hall in Boston.[22][23]
• A $25 million hotel with 129 rooms.[9][24]
• Phase one of a five-level parking garage started in fall 2018 for $14.7 million.[25]
• Esri expanded its presence in St. Louis at Cortex to serve the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which completing its Next NGA West campus.[26][27]

• Cambridge Innovation Center
• Venture Café

• Official website
• Official account on Twitter