By Adam Allington/Associated Press
St. Louis, MO – Missouri Governor Jay Nixon was in St. Louis today to announce $2.2 million in state funding for Grace Hill Neighborhood Health Center.
The money will go for a new facility at the current site of Grace Hill's Watertower Health Center in North St. Louis.
Funding had already been approved by the General Assembly, but after taking office in January Nixon put a hold on all state construction projects pending further review.
"I've had to suspend some projects across the state just because we don't have the money in the bank to do it," said Nixon. "But with that same analysis brought the rising to the top of the projects that were necessary, vital and ready to go."
Nixon also released funding for 18 college construction projects that had been funded through the sale of assets from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority.
Nixon's administration had sent letters to several universities last month warning that they might not get additional construction money from MOHELA
The student loan agency is to give $350 million to the state over several years under a 2007 state law. But financial troubles have caused the agency to miss several of its scheduled quarterly payments.
Among the projects initially placed on hold that now will get money are the Morrow and Garrison buildings at the University of Central Missouri, Pershing Hall at Truman State University and an autism center at Southeast Missouri State University.
Still suspended is a cancer center at the University of Missouri-Columbia.