Cordish to Develop Cardinals' Ballpark Village

ST. LOUIS-St. Louis Cardinals ownership has chosen the Cordish Co. to develop a mixed-use project where the old Busch Stadium now stands. Ballpark Village, as it is being called, will generally include retail and office space as well as residential buildings, an expanded Cardinals Museum and other entertainment attractions in a traditional, six-block street grid that has at its heart a public plaza.Cordish, based in Baltimore, is known for developing urban mixed-use entertainment properties. Some of those projects include Boston’s Inner Harbor, the Walk in Atlantic City, NJ and Fourth Street Live! in Louisville, KY, for which it was handed an Urban Land Institute Award in April. The company also owns restaurants and clubs, does live music promotion and film/media distribution. “We looked at many companies around the country and feel confident that the Cordish Co. is the best fit for our project,” says Cardinals’ general partner Bill DeWitt Jr. The Cardinals ownership (the DeWitt family) and Cordish are now finalizing the plans for Ballpark Village, he says. Ballpark Village will be developed in phases on 12 acres and cost “hundreds of millions of dollars,” according to a source at Cordish, who describes the endeavor as a 50-50 partnership. When complete, the site will hold upward of 400 residential units, 450,000 sf of office space and approximately 135,000 sf of retail, including 25,000 sf of restaurants, and 120,000 sf of entertainment venues, including a new Cardinals Hall of Fame and a “world class aquarium,” according to the Cardinals’ website. The retail and entertainment space will surround the one-acre public plaza. The northern half of Ballpark Village is primarily devoted to residential, including town homes on Walnut Street, a landmark residential tower, and upper floor condominium units that are pleasantly separated from the activities of the lower levels. Broadway, the eastern edge of the district, will be characterized by offices and related commercial uses. Following the demolition of Busch Stadium in October or November, work will begin on the first phase of Ballpark Village. The first phase will include the Village Plaza area and the larger entertainment destinations such as the Cardinals Hall of Fame and the aquarium. Completion of Ballpark Village’s first phase will coincide with the opening of the new ballpark. The Broadway office corridor and the northern residential communities will be developed in the second and third phases, respectively. Cordish currently has a Missouri office in Kansas City related to Kansas City Live!, an $835-million mixed-use entertainment project there. A company source confirms for GlobeSt.com that a new Cordish office will be opening a St. Louis office in conjunction with the Ballpark Village development.