EQ

Wellston Station, a historic remnant of a buzzling streetcar network built in St. Louis by United Railways Co. in 1909 is one of the few remaining buildings from the network.

The station is identified as a symbol of identity in the Wellston Loop and a significant reminder of the old streetcar infrastructure. The Wellston area was known to be the “shopping mecca of the region in the mid-20th century and, at the end of the line where anyone would get off the streetcar network, Wellston Station captured the hearts of the townsfolk.

The St. Louis Land Re-utilization Authority had owned the building since 2006 until a buyer was found. Recently, the nonprofit Audubon Associates and Friendly Temple Church invested in the Wellston Station with a plan to preserve the building’s historic features whilst modernizing the building with a ground floor restaurant and conference rooms in the upper floor.

A vintage car retrofitted for dining is planned to be added for a different experience. Additionally a playground and green space are planned for the neighboring lot.

Check out the full story by Jacob Barker on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

St. Louis-based PierianDx has been able to raise $30 million in financing. Launched in 2014, PierianDx was spun out of Washington University.

PierianDx's software and services provide clinical genomic analysis for treatment of complex diseases.

New York-based health care investment firm OrbiMed, Health Catalyst Capital, Research Triangle Institute, Inova Health System, ATW Partners and SJF Ventures have invested in PierianDx.

Check out the full story by Nathan Rubbelke on STL Inno.

Lauren Risley, Real Estate Agent of St. Louis, goes the extra mile for her clients to give them the dream homes in “Call the Closer” the hybrid show for HGTV.

Risley, who buys the houses and renovates them to fit the description of a “dream home” once, has been a finance professional.

From buying her first house at the age of 19, Risley now works with a team that could deliver the surprise of the dream homes, and takes pride in showing off St. Louis.

Check out the full story by Daniel Nenan on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

However, difficulty hiring tech talent, stunted Eateria’s growth. But, it led to the launch of a new business venture, Louis-based for-profit software development boot camp Claim Academy.

Since 2015, the boot camp has trained about 700 graduates, with Claim saying 90% have been hired for roles with an average starting salary of $72,000.

More than eight years after winning his Arch Grant, Ayeni said his connections from the program continue to help him. It was through Arch Grants that he was connected with the real estate broker that found Claim’s new Central West End headquarters.

Check out the full story by Nathan Rubbelke on STL Inno.

A research study on racially restrictive covenants showed there are still millions of such documents tied to home deeds across the United States.

And around 30,000 restrictive covenants in St. Louis, which peaked in the 1920s.

Julia Allen, co-founder of 4TheVille, discovered recently that the owner of their home has signed a covenant agreeing not to sell or rent to people of colour.

The 71-year-old, with the help of her non-profit, aims to help people understand and address the fight against discriminatory housing practices.

Check out the full story by Corinne Ruff on St. Louis Public Radio.

“How can you make a difference? First look into what breaks your heart and what makes you come alive,” says Dan Parris, Dan Parris, a St.Louis based award-winning filmmaker and founder of Speak Up Productions.

If learning disabilities, homelessness, young people without a purpose or poor education breaks your heart, and if storytelling/film making, journalism, administration, tutoring is what you are good at, it should be used to make a difference, he suggests.

Check out the full video on TedXStLouis.

Green Street plans to build a 5000 Square Foot 1920’s Speakeasy themed Bar at the Armoury Building in Midtown, St. Louis.

The developer intends to complete the project at half its estimated cost.

Check out the full story by Steph Kukuljan on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The National Security Innovation Network, a talent and technology pipeline for national security is a signed partnership between Cortex Innovation Community and the Department of Defense.

The program was invented with the intention of encouraging startups connecting the private sector with the Department of Defense.

The NSIN collaborates with several universities in the area hosting hackathons to collect various data.

St, Louis was selected by the Pentagon as an Innovation Hub for NSIN because of the academic institutions, entrepreneurship ecosystem, two of the major Department of Defense partners.

Check out the full story by Annika Merrilees on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Arch Grants, a non-profit, celebrates a decade of awarding grants to startups in St. Louis and beyond.

Jerry Schlichter, the brainchild behind Arch Grants, believes the impact is beyond offering employment opportunities and capital returns - it has helped promote inclusivity in St. Louis.

"When Arch Grants launched, Schlichter said the organization contacted every historically black college and university and women’s college in the U.S. to inform them about the competition.

Ten years later, Arch Grants said 69% of the companies it’s funded are led or co-led by a woman, person of color, immigrant or veteran.

Those figures pace well ahead of the venture capital industry, where just 2.4% of U.S. venture funding between 2015 and 2020 went to Latino or Black founders, according to Crunchbase, which tracks venture funding."

Check out the full story by Nathan Rubbelke on STL Inno.