Dennis Lower | St. Louis Public Radio

Dennis Lower

Cortex CEO Dennis Lower Reflects On A Decade Of Building St. Louis Into A Tech Hub

By • 21 hours ago
Dennis Lower will step down as CEO of Cortex early next year after spending a decade in the role. Dec. 13, 2019
Carolina Hidalgo | St. Louis Public Radio

A lot has changed at Cortex since Dennis Lower took the reins as CEO a decade ago.

Back then, he was tasked with designing an innovation community — a place where people from big corporations, small startups and academic research institutions could break out of their silos and bounce ideas off each other.

“We call them serendipitous collisions, and that truly is what does happen,” Lower said of the mixed-use business and retail area in midtown St. Louis.

But as Cortex grows — a new hotel, apartments and office space are under construction or in the planning stages — Lower is preparing to transition from his full-time role. That move will take place in the first quarter of 2020 when his successor will be named.

New BioSTL Building Aims To Grow Bioscience Hub In Cortex

By • Aug 11, 2019
Taken on July 22 at BioSTL building in cortex during rehab construction.
Corinne Ruff | St. Louis Public Radio

A historic building in the Cortex innovation district is being transformed into a focal point for the St. Louis bioscience industry. At least that’s the intention of BioSTL President and CEO Donn Rubin.

“It’s part of my vision that when a guest to St. Louis comes for a meeting in the biosciences, they will be exposed to not just one company or one entrepreneur, but see an entire community of entrepreneurs — a beehive of startup activity.”

Square To Move Into St. Louis Post-Dispatch Building, Grow Local Workforce

By • Jul 29, 2019
The Post-Dispatch headquarters has been on North Tucker Avenue in downtown St. Louis for decades.
Carolina Hidalgo | St. Louis Public Radio

Updated at 2:30 p.m., July 30 with comment from StarLake Holdings Managing Partner John Berglund — Mobile payment technology company Square will move its 500 St. Louis employees from the Cortex Innovation Community to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch building downtown over the next few years.

The newspaper is moving around the corner next month, to 901 North 10th Street.

Square signed a lease on the newspaper’s longtime home last week. The building has space for 1,400 employees, giving Square the option to expand its St. Louis presence.

TechShop to file bankruptcy; closes all locations including one in St. Louis

By • Nov 15, 2017
Cortex,
TechShop

TechShop offered a cutting edge workshop for entrepreneurs making prototypes or those who just wanted to make stuff.

Now the St. Louis location and nine others around the country are closed. TechShop announced on Wednesday it’s filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

The San Francisco-based company came to St. Louis in 2016. The maker’s space had a prime location in the innovation district Cortex in a new, 60,000-square-foot building at 4260 Forest Park Ave.

“It was a surprise to us,” said Dennis Lower, president and CEO of Cortex.

Murmuration Fest, St. Louis’ new innovation festival, announces fall lineup

By Willis Ryder Arnold • May 24, 2016
Murmuration

St. Louis’s first “innovation festival” is starting to take shape.  The multi-focused event, called the Murmuration Festival, has announced its debut musical line up this fall, which will include the electronic jazz project Flying Lotus, electronica group Tycho and the rock band Deerhoof.

Worried about Ikea traffic? ‘Welcome to first-tier cities,’ says Cortex CEO

By Kelly Moffitt • Sep 29, 2015
Aine O'Connor | St. Louis Public Radio

Tomorrow’s long-awaited opening of Ikea has some “St. Louis on the Air” Twitter followers already prepping for a lengthened commute. 

At Ikea Groundbreaking, Regional Leaders Hail Swedish Retailer's Economic Promise

By • Jun 24, 2014
Jason Rosenbaum, St. Louis Public Radio

In many ways, breaking ground on St. Louis's first Ikea store is a lot easier than putting together the Swedish furniture maker's latest bookshelf. For Mayor Francis Slay, he just needed a shovel and speech. 

“Fortunately for a groundbreaking, you don’t need an Allen wrench or instructions,” Slay quipped. 

Cambridge Innovation Center Is Starting Bigger (And Sooner) In St. Louis

By • Jun 11, 2014
(Courtesy Cortex)

The expansion of the Cambridge Innovation Center to St. Louis is taking on bigger dimensions than originally planned.

CIC is well known for providing space and services to startups in the Boston area. It's attracted hundreds of startups and established tech companies such as Amazon and Facebook since its founding by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1999.

Study Examines Possibility Of A Midtown MetroLink Station

By • Mar 27, 2014
Jason Rosenbaum/St. Louis Public Radio

(Updated at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday)

A pro-transit organization released a study today that could lead to a new MetroLink station in St. Louis’ central corridor. 

A study by Citizens for Modern Transit examined the costs and viability of building a MetroLink station between Sarah and Boyle in Midtown. The station would be located close to CORTEX, a fast-growing bioscience and technology hub. And it would also be close to where furniture retailer Ikea is expected to set up shop in 2015.