ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) – The first year gave grants to eight businesses to open, expand, or improve their businesses.
Whip It Goods Skincare is one of the businesses that received a grant in 2024. Owner Ashley Morgan created her pop-up location on Washington Avenue, near 13th Street, and found so much success with the location so she decided to sign a long term lease.
“I’ve just seen basically my dream come to fruition,” Morgan said.
Morgan started her business as a passion project to help create plant based skin care for her daughter who has eczema.
In 2022 she took it full time selling online and at fairs throughout the Metro.
“When you’re doing e-commerce business you don’t get to interact and engage with people face to face. I always had a vision of wanting to have a retail space that I could do that and build community,” Morgan said.
Morgan said the cost and risk of opening a brick and mortar store stopped her, until she got a grant for $15,000.
It’s part of a collaboration between Greater St. Louis, Inc and the city to bring business downtown.
Morgan opened her store in September and had nearly all costs covered for about six months.
“That ran out in January and I’ve been sustaining since and growing. Continuing to grow and scale so it provided exactly what I needed,” Morgan said.
The incentive grant includes three separate components, all targeted to attracting new retail activity and increasing density and vibrancy at street level Downtown:
- The Sidewalk Café and Signage Program. Will help Downtown restaurants build aesthetically pleasing outdoor seating, exterior signage, or retail displays to encourage more activity at street level. Restaurants can receive up to $5,000 per storefront.
- Tenant Improvement Program. Assists new retail establishments with grants of up to $50,000 for interior and exterior tenant improvements, such as new flooring, lighting, windows, as well as historical restoration.
- Pop-Up Retail Program. Designed to activate pop-up retail shops in vacant storefronts. Offers up to $15,000 per storefront.
There is more than $350,000 available to distribute between all the businesses who receive the funding.
“It’s just to create more vibrancy downtown. More walkability. Fill in some of the gaps where there may be a vacancy,” Greater St. Louis, Inc’s Chief Downtown Officer Kurt Weigle said.
Wiegle said its not just Wash Ave they’re focusing on.
“Lacledes landing is another. 7th street we just got finished with a really beautiful streetscape program there with new pedestrian streetlights and new sidewalks and a two way bike path. We’re focusing on some of the areas downtown where there’s already been some level of investment or a history of retail in the past,” Weigle said.
Morgan said about 75% of her business is people coming from outside the city to shop or make their own skin care.
The service for people to create there own skincare is one she started offering because of the freedom she got from the grant program.
“When I first opened I got a lot of negativity like why would you do that or why would you go downtown and there’s no reason for it. I think the perception starts to become reality when people think its one way and decide to not invest and not pursue opportunities downtown and then people don’t go downtown. If you have a business that has something you offer that is unique and is going to be a destination i think its perfect downtown and people will come,” Morgan said.
The downtown retail incentive program already has a dozen businesses who have shown interest. Greater St. Louis, Inc. said the money is given out to businesses on a first come first serve basis.
Businesses and Downtown property owners that would like more information on the incentives or that want to participate should visit http://greaterstlinc.com/RetailIncentives for program details.
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