Ballpark Village Phase 2 is on its ways, as the St. Louis Cardinals participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for the development on Thursday.
The Cardinals and their development partner, the Baltimore-based Cordish Cos., are moving forward with plans to expand the existing Ballpark Village outside of Busch Stadium. Leading up to Thursday’s ceremony, it was known that Ballpark Village Phase 2 would result in the addition of several new amenities in the area, including offices, retail, a hotel, and apartment units.
On Thursday, it was confirmed that PwC will move its downtown St. Louis offices into the office building included in Ballpark Village Phase 2, providing the building with an anchor tenant years before its opening. More from The St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
“The impact of the St. Louis Cardinals on our city is so significant, not only from an economic standpoint, but from a cultural standpoint,” St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson told those gathered in the Fox Sports Midwest Live! Ballpark Village venue.
Cardinals officials took the opportunity to introduce portions of the $260 million project to the community. They confirmed that accounting firm PwC will move its downtown offices from the Bank of America Plaza a block away to anchor the 10-story, 117,000-square-foot office building, planned to open in mid-2019. The co-developers had previously identified PwC as an anchor tenant in presentations to investors, the Post-Dispatch reported in October.
And Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III explained that while the organization doesn’t want to sound self-righteous by talking about the “Cardinal way” too much, “we just couldn’t resist” naming the new street through the development Cardinal Way and the 29-story apartment tower “One Cardinal Way.”
The expansion also includes plans for an eight-story Live! By Loews Hotel on the west end of Clark, a project announced in October that added a new component to the project from what was initially envisioned and a two-story retail building just behind the old Busch Stadium infield. The retail building will be anchored by Onelife Fitness, which operates almost 50 facilities around the country, including one in Kansas City next to The Cordish Cos.’ Power & Light District.
The second phase of Ballpark Village will take shape over the next several years. In the nearer future, the Cardinals are planning a significant upgrade to Busch Stadium. As was covered here earlier this week, the Cardinals are moving forward with plans to add a new social space to the ballpark’s right field area for the 2018 season.
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