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ST. LOUIS — Global public relations firm FleishmanHillard is leaving its longtime headquarters in downtown ӣ����Ƶ for smaller offices in Clayton.

The agency has spent 70 years downtown and nearly 40 at the ӣ����Ƶ Place Building at Pine Street and North Broadway, where it has occupied the top four floors as one of the foremost PR and marketing firms in the country. Its clients have included Anheuser-Busch brewery, technology manufacturer Emerson and consumer goods maker Procter & Gamble Co.

This spring, Fleishman will move to in Clayton and occupy 40,000 square feet — an office less than half the size of its downtown headquarters. Online show the agency’s space is already being marketed for lease.

Fleishman confirmed the move Monday.

“It’s been a huge privilege to be part of the downtown ӣ����Ƶ community since 1953 and we will continue to advocate for ӣ����Ƶ as our headquarters and home,” the company said in a statement provided by Senior Vice President Chelsey Watts. “Our new location in Clayton will provide us with a flexible office environment that fits our current and future needs, along with putting us in closer proximity to many of our local clients.”

The company would not say how many employees it had here, said it had no plans to make local staffing changes and attributed the move in part to a hybrid work schedule. Watts would not say if downtown crime played a role in the firm’s departure.

Fleishman’s exit follows other high-profile decamping, including Polsinelli law firm, KMOV TV station and the state of Missouri, the latter of which left two of its downtown offices.

Jason Hall, CEO of regional business group Greater ӣ����Ƶ Inc., on Monday called on City Hall and other partners to make downtown a bigger priority.

“Make no mistake: Downtown needs urgent investment, and it needs that investment now,” he said in a statement.

Fleishman’s departure after seven decades marks an emotional blow for downtown. The neighborhood has struggled for years as businesses left for other corners of the ӣ����Ƶ region and country. The pandemic further exploited downtown’s weak market conditions as remote work emptied office buildings and streets, storefronts closed and lawlessness grew.

For city officials and downtown boosters, it’s been a game of Whac-A-Mole in tackling the problems and persuading ӣ����Ƶans that downtown is a safe destination, outside of concerts and sporting events.

Greater ӣ����Ƶ Inc. has taken a co-pilot role with City Hall in addressing these issues: The organization launched an ambassador program of unarmed workers to “add a sense of security.” It bought the Wainwright Building from the state, which said it is leaving downtown for Chesterfield.

And the business group has thrown its support behind the Gateway Arch Park Foundation buying the vacant Millennium Hotel and the city economic development agency’s lawsuit to gain possession of the troubled Railway Exchange Building.

But it’s not enough, Hall said on Monday. The city receives 20% of its revenue from downtown but spends just 5% of it in the neighborhood.

“This is not sustainable,” he said.

He echoed his previous call to spend the Rams relocation settlement on downtown infrastructure and development.

“At a time when major leases are coming up for renewal, and when unique one-time resources like the Rams funds are available, we must act now to preserve the City’s tax base,” Hall said.

FleishmanHillard was founded in ӣ����Ƶ in 1946 by Alfred Fleishman and Robert Hillard. Its influence as the voice of corporate and civic establishment became enmeshed in the local landscape even as its stature grew globally. It was acquired by New York-based Omnicom Group in 1997.

The agency moved into the ӣ����Ƶ Place building, at 200 North Broadway, just a few years after it was built. Prior to that, FleishmanHillard had offices across downtown.

In Clayton, the agency will rub shoulders with some of the region’s biggest corporations, including Emerson and health care giant Centene Corp.

Clayton is the premier office market. It commands the highest rental rates of more than $30 a square foot and boasts some of the best building amenities that companies say are key to getting their employees back into the office.

Fleishman named a new CEO, J.J. Carter, on Oct. 1.

Carter is based in San Francisco.