(St. Louis Business Journal) New Stand-Alone nonprofit to lead 39 North Innovation District; Former Arch Grants exec tapped to lead it

A coalition of St. Louis economic development and agriculture organizations have teamed up to create a new nonprofit entity to lead the 39 North innovation district in St. Louis County, hiring the former leader of startup funder Arch Grants to oversee its operations.

The Creve Coeur agriculture-focused innovation district will be managed by the newly formed 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, 39 North Agriculture Innovation District. Emily Lohse-Busch, formerly Arch Grants’ executive director from 2017 to 2022, will be the nonprofit’s executive director.

39 North is a 600-acre innovation district that includes the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, BRDG Park, Helix Center Biotech Incubator and Bayer Crop Science. It launched publicly in December 2016 after the U.S. Department of Commerce in 2015 provided the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership a $500,000 grant to create a master plan for the innovation hub. READ MORE