The Cortex Innovation Community and the surrounding neighborhoods will celebrate the grand opening of a new MetroLink Station and the first segment of the new Chouteau Greenway on Tuesday, July 31. Located near Boyle and Duncan avenues, the station will serve the growing number of businesses, hotels and retail outlets that call the technology hub home.
Henry S. Webber, executive vice chancellor and chief administrative officer, at Washington University in St. Louis and chairman of the Cortex Innovation Community, said the station will help the district continue to attract, and retain, talent to the St. Louis community. More than 250 businesses are located in Cortex.
“Cortex projects are more than individual buildings and amenities — they’re part of a coordinated effort to create a 24/7 community where people can work, live and play,” Webber said. “Having a MetroLink stop in the heart of Cortex is key to making that dynamic community accessible for everyone, especially since Cortex is one of the region’s fastest-growing job centers.”
Washington University, along with Cortex, Great Rivers Greenway, BJC HealthCare and the City of St. Louis/St. Louis Development Corp., helped fund the station, the first to be built with public and private dollars. Many members of the university community live, work and study in Cortex, which was founded in 2002 by Washington University, BJC Healthcare, University of Missouri–St. Louis, Saint Louis University and the Missouri Botanical Garden. Washington University students, staff and faculty may use the Metro transit system for free with their U-Pass.
The first quarter-mile segment of the Chouteau Greenway is located just north of the Cortex Station. Ultimately, the project will connect dozens of area institutions via green spaces and stretch from Forest Park to the Arch.