I'm sure there must be a thread on this somewhere, but it is an enduring question in my mind. Some time ago Richard Florida and others articulated this idea that luring companies into an urban area to provide jobs is a good way to end up disappointed when the companies ultimately get lured again elsewhere. An alternative, more sustainable, approach is to put investment into anchoring institutions that aren't going anywhere. For Florida, in PIttsburgh at the time, they determined a strong focus on the local medical school could probably create lots of little companies and all sorts of jobs.
Baltimore, Cleveland, and St. Louis were watching that more than most, I think. Baltimore figured its greatest strength was John Hopkins, which they grew into a city onto itself. Cleveland focused on the Cleveland Clinic and built out medical roadshow and meeting infrastructure. St. Louis took a long-game approach with CORTEX, which I believe was originally far more medical in nature with companies like Stereotaxis leading the charge.
In this time, for complex reasons beyond my complete understanding, BJC grew into a behemoth. It got denser, prettier, and more transit-friendly. It connected better to allied institutions like SLCOP, Goldfarb, and Shriner's. It certainly pushed hard into neighborhoods in the CWE and the Grove and encouraged denser housing there.
In the same period of time, SLU built only a few buildings but managed to erase a vast area of the Gate District and pretty much the whole Tiffany neighborhood.
Enough time has passed for the St. Louis community to have the hindsight to see why one of our area hospitals did very well and the other did almost nothing.
Here's a list of differences that I see. I wonder if you guys might agree, disagree, or expand on them.
1) WUSTL has a bigger endowment than SLU and far more capital to expend.
2) WUSTL has undeniable assets to build off of like a college of pharmacy and an incredible medical library. SLU does not.
3) WUSTL buys land as needed and immediately fills it with huge buildings even if it is on the other side of property owned by someone else. SLU buys land without obvious reason, clears it, and sits on it. This has allowed the area around BJC to become a hot development area while most of the central Grand corridor is a wasteland. WUSTL maintains what it has and the nearby neighborhoods provide for themselves. SLU employs an army of lawn mowers and maintains the emptiness. Ultimately WUSTL takes the concept of a campus more loosely than SLU does. One is a core focus area and the other is a fortress.
4) BJC has proven to be a strong partner for WUSTL because it is place-based at its headquarters in the CWE. BJC wants a flagship hospital. Ascension and other SLU partners in contrast are much more wide-ranging suburban entities. SLU has lacked a hospital operator with a strong development vision.
5) Public transit and an urban feel attracts better talent to WUSTL. SLU distances itself from Metro while WUSTL pays into the upass program and pays metro for operating shuttles. This has made WUSTL build out an experience that prioritizes walking. SLU in contrast is entirely car dominated. Likewise abundant housing in walking distance to the hospital allows all sorts of doctors to walk or bike to work. Restaurants nearby allow hospital workers to take their lunch breaks in more pleasant locations.
6) Anecdotally, it seems like WUSTL has concentrated on the post-doc experience. Post-docs are smart people in their late 20s and early 30s lured into St. Louis for temporary appointments. They're hungry and urban. If they like St. Louis, they fight desperately to find ways to stay. Some start companies. Others furiously bid for more post-doc jobs. Others write huge grants to keep themselves afloat. This group is where the passion and yearning for growth takes place, and WUSTL has harnessed it. SLU graduates, it seems, apply for post-docs elsewhere.
Would SLU be huge if WUSTL did not exist? Is it not possible to have two mega hospitals in one city? Does one leech off the other?
Baltimore, Cleveland, and St. Louis were watching that more than most, I think. Baltimore figured its greatest strength was John Hopkins, which they grew into a city onto itself. Cleveland focused on the Cleveland Clinic and built out medical roadshow and meeting infrastructure. St. Louis took a long-game approach with CORTEX, which I believe was originally far more medical in nature with companies like Stereotaxis leading the charge.
In this time, for complex reasons beyond my complete understanding, BJC grew into a behemoth. It got denser, prettier, and more transit-friendly. It connected better to allied institutions like SLCOP, Goldfarb, and Shriner's. It certainly pushed hard into neighborhoods in the CWE and the Grove and encouraged denser housing there.
In the same period of time, SLU built only a few buildings but managed to erase a vast area of the Gate District and pretty much the whole Tiffany neighborhood.
Enough time has passed for the St. Louis community to have the hindsight to see why one of our area hospitals did very well and the other did almost nothing.
Here's a list of differences that I see. I wonder if you guys might agree, disagree, or expand on them.
1) WUSTL has a bigger endowment than SLU and far more capital to expend.
2) WUSTL has undeniable assets to build off of like a college of pharmacy and an incredible medical library. SLU does not.
3) WUSTL buys land as needed and immediately fills it with huge buildings even if it is on the other side of property owned by someone else. SLU buys land without obvious reason, clears it, and sits on it. This has allowed the area around BJC to become a hot development area while most of the central Grand corridor is a wasteland. WUSTL maintains what it has and the nearby neighborhoods provide for themselves. SLU employs an army of lawn mowers and maintains the emptiness. Ultimately WUSTL takes the concept of a campus more loosely than SLU does. One is a core focus area and the other is a fortress.
4) BJC has proven to be a strong partner for WUSTL because it is place-based at its headquarters in the CWE. BJC wants a flagship hospital. Ascension and other SLU partners in contrast are much more wide-ranging suburban entities. SLU has lacked a hospital operator with a strong development vision.
5) Public transit and an urban feel attracts better talent to WUSTL. SLU distances itself from Metro while WUSTL pays into the upass program and pays metro for operating shuttles. This has made WUSTL build out an experience that prioritizes walking. SLU in contrast is entirely car dominated. Likewise abundant housing in walking distance to the hospital allows all sorts of doctors to walk or bike to work. Restaurants nearby allow hospital workers to take their lunch breaks in more pleasant locations.
6) Anecdotally, it seems like WUSTL has concentrated on the post-doc experience. Post-docs are smart people in their late 20s and early 30s lured into St. Louis for temporary appointments. They're hungry and urban. If they like St. Louis, they fight desperately to find ways to stay. Some start companies. Others furiously bid for more post-doc jobs. Others write huge grants to keep themselves afloat. This group is where the passion and yearning for growth takes place, and WUSTL has harnessed it. SLU graduates, it seems, apply for post-docs elsewhere.
Would SLU be huge if WUSTL did not exist? Is it not possible to have two mega hospitals in one city? Does one leech off the other?
