The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis celebrated the opening of its Entrepreneurship and Women’s Business Center in a historic building built in 1920 on Monday, July 15, 2024.
The Women’s Business Center’s history dates back to 1999, and SBA Regional Director Maureen E. Brinkley has been involved since day one.
She was instrumental in establishing the Grace Hill Women’s Business Center as an economic development initiative for Grace Hill Settlement House. In 2020, the Urban League and Grace Hill merged, consolidating the Women’s Business Center into a community-wide service.
“We’ve served over 1,000 women,” Brinkley said during the grand opening.
“This building sets us apart as a catalyst for creating safe spaces for women on their path to becoming successful entrepreneurs.”
The Women’s Business Center’s mission is to empower women entrepreneurs through advocacy, outreach, education and support. We provide comprehensive training and counseling in multiple languages. At the forefront of this is helping socially and economically disadvantaged women start and grow their businesses.
The center is located at 4401 Natural Bridge in the former Commerce Bank building, which was donated to the Urban League by Commerce Bank in 2022.
“We’re in the heart of north St. Louis, and this is where we make people’s dreams come true,” said Urban League President and CEO Macheel P. McMillan.
“This center will help people start businesses from home. [and] Hire more people. Small businesses are the bedrock of the St. Louis region, and this is especially true in Black and Brown communities.”
The donation of the newly renovated building, funded in part by a Commerce Bank grant, is part of the bank’s continuing relationship with the Urban League, according to John Kemper, president and CEO of Commerce Bancshares.
“This is our hometown. We’ve been serving this community for over 50 years,” Kemper said, noting that Commerce Bank’s new branch is located across from Natural Bridge.
“This building will help more people run their own small businesses, especially in areas like this, where the importance of small business is hard to discuss.”
Kemper called Urban Rug a “cornerstone of the community,” adding that the business center will be “an anchor of this community for years to come.”
Entrepreneurship Center Director Aleta Grimes Mitchell recalled something National League of Cities President Marc Morial said when announcing the building’s donation in 2022.
“He said Black entrepreneurs are ‘shut out, they’re being shut out.’ There’s a gap there, and we have to close that gap,” she said.
“I’m ready to rock and roll.”
“There’s no better way for people to be successful than for them to start their own businesses,” said Jared Boyd, chief of staff to Mayor Tishaura Jones.
“This is a physical manifestation that allows them to realize their dreams.”
State Sen. Carla May said she envisions the center as a “huge incubator.”
“It’s an incubator for creating billionaires and multimillionaires who will invest in this community.”
Councilwoman Laura Keyes said the Urban League Center is part of a “collaborative effort” to bring vitality back to many areas of the city.
“We all have to do our part. This is a beautiful city. We just need to keep it polished.”
The event will take place at the 13th National League of Cities Entrepreneurship Center.
McMillan explained that most of the participants who use the Urban League Center are African-American women entrepreneurs “who are in the early stages of developing their businesses.”
“The Urban League Entrepreneurship Center and Women’s Business Center will play a vital role in promoting wealth building and income generation.”
McMillan said he hopes minority-owned small businesses will continue to grow and need more space to serve their customers and clients.
“Then we’ll move to Urban League Plaza,” McMillan said with a smile.
The plaza is located on the Urban League headquarters grounds on N. Kings Highway, at the intersection of Over Avenue and Page Boulevard.
The Urban League plans to expand and update the plaza using a $750,000 federal grant secured by Rep. Cori Bush.
McMillan said the plaza could house 12 tenants after renovations, which are currently underway, and could potentially include a fitness center or community gym in the future.
