Urban League expands into north county: Centene donates $25 million building

ST. LOUIS — The Urban League of the metropolitan is expanding into north county. Today, the organization unveiled their big news: the donation of a state-of-the-art building by Centene.

At the Marriott Grand Hotel on Thursday afternoon, the Urban League committed to Ferguson, Dellwood and the north St. Louis County area. Doing so with the announcement of a 25-million-dollar building that will serve as a hub for many services.  A donation that is the largest in the organization’s history.

Urban League president and CEO Michael P. McMillan remembers former Centennial CEO Michael Niedorf, their former national chairman and longtime supporter. Centene built the state-of-the-art facility to commit to the community after the Ferguson riots.

But, after COVID hit and the change in working from home, not as many people were using the building as before. McMillan is asking Centene to consider their needs.

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McMillan says the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis is the number one urban league in America, employing 350 people at 25 locations in three different counties. They will have their Save Our Sons and Save Our Sisters programs in this new facility. In addition, early-development childcare and job training will be used at this facility near 270 and Halls Ferry off Pershall Road.

“We will have housing, a bank mini branch from Enterprise Bank, and a number of other vendors and partners in the building,” said McMillan. “This contribution is the single largest donation of any item in the history of 114 of the national urban league movement to any particular urban league in the United States.”

The Urban League will be moving out of the Jennings location into the new 60-thousand-square-foot facility in the very near future.

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