The Parkland REDI region is located between two urban areas. To the north is St. Louis, Missouri’s largest metro area with a population of 2.8 million. It is ranked 20th nationwide. Cape Girardeau, Missouri’s newest metro area, borders the region to the south.
Located near both the geographic and population centers of the country, St. Louis boasts extensive air, road, rail, and river access to virtually anywhere. St. Louis is within 500 miles of one-third of the U.S. population and within 1,500 miles of 90 percent of the North American population and gross domestic product.
Serving the St. Louis area are four interstate highways and six major railroads. St. Louis lies at the confluence of three major rivers – the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois – with 14 active ports and more than 100 docking facilities extending 70 miles along the Illinois and Missouri banks. St. Louis is the second largest inland port by tonnage in the United States and handles more than 32 million tons of goods and materials annually, including petroleum, chemicals, grain and other cargo.
Thanks to its geographic location and well developed transportation systems, the Parkland area has convenient access to the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. This provides opportunities to attract both new companies who need close proximity to the metro area’s infrastructure and businesses, and new residents who want to live in a smaller community while still having easy access to the amenities of the St. Louis metro area. Proximity to the metro area also provides the area with access to a considerable labor pool. The region has seen significant population growth in the last 15 years (11.5% between 2000-2015) due in part to metro residents moving to the surrounding area. Additionally, potential companies also have access to the labor force living within a one-hour drive of the region, which includes much of the southern metro area.