Clayco maintains a large office in Overland and also has offices in Atlanta and Sacramento, Calif. Some of Clayco’s current projects include reconfiguring space at the iconic Willis Tower in downtown Chicago and Pfizer’s new headquarters underway in Chesterfield.

“Like everything the Clayco team gets involved in, we are committed not only to financial support, but also to helping the Trolley team with leadership, support and resources to immediately make the Trolley fully operational, the right way, by spring 2018,” Clayco and CRG said in a statement. In addition to the monetary donation, the companies plan to make available at least one full-time project manager and a project executive to “make sure the Loop Trolley stays on track and reaches its full potential,” the statement said.

The Loop Trolley Co.’s Sterman said the trolley still must receive some federal regulatory approvals and some construction remains.

The donation means the project can move forward now with a spring start date, Sterman said. “What it means is we can move as quickly as possible to get the system moving,” Sterman said. “Obviously we’re thrilled both because of the money but also having someone of Bob Clark’s stature in the community and the success he has had to believe in this project the way we do.”

Responding to the critics of the project, Sterman said: “There’s been some skepticism among leadership in the region and on social media but when we’re out testing the trolley and people come out of buildings to take pictures of it, I think people are really excited, and we can’t start soon enough.”

Lisa Brown • 314-340-8127 @lisabrownstl on Twitter lbrown@post-dispatch.com

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