Michael Staenberg’s Downtown Chesterfield project is the culmination of his three decades building trust with Chesterfield leaders—and, he says, likely his final big development. The founder and president of The Staenberg Group has long been active in the West County suburb, bringing The District, The Factory, and The Hub (“I keep things simple,” he says of his naming conventions). But the $2 billion Downtown Chesterfield is something much grander, a plan to replace the Chesterfield Mall with up to 2,363 housing units, restaurants, and office space in a walkable streetscape.
Across the country, developers have built city-style neighborhoods from the ground up, with places like Cherry Creek in Denver and Crocker Park in Cleveland offering first-floor restaurants and shops paired with housing above. But Staenberg’s plan is something new for St. Louis, and he says he’s carefully surveyed the best of what’s out there to bring it to Chesterfield. “It’s all about the nuances,” he says in a new episode of The 314 Podcast. “You know, people don’t think about that. Cherry Creek is a perfect example. I like their brick pavers. I like their signage. I met the gentleman that runs it. I said, ‘Do you mind if I copy this?’ ‘No.’ The center in Scottsdale has the best benches I’ve ever seen.”
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He also insists that, even in a region seeing stagnant growth, his Chesterfield development won’t be a loss for other walkable areas, such as downtown St. Louis. ”I hope that they come from Columbia, Missouri and say, ‘Hey, I wanna live here.’ Or Springfield,” he says. “I want more people to move here.”
A native of Nebraska, Staenberg grew up in modest circumstances, the oldest of four siblings in a 1,400-square-foot home. His dad, who died when he was 13, stressed the importance of hard work—and of charitable giving. Even when the family was poor, he recalls his father urging him to do more. ”He says, ‘What does the Torah teach you?’ Well, you’re supposed to give 10 percent of what you make. He says, ‘We’re not a 10 percent family. We’re a 20 percent family.’” That’s something that resonates for Staenberg, one of the area’s most generous philanthropists, even today.
He chalks his success in business to that hard work. After graduating from Arizona State University, he got a job at Leo Eisenberg & Company in Kansas City. “The guy that hired me, I have no idea why,” he recalls. “I had hair down to here, and he said, ‘I’d like to hire you.’ And I said, ‘OK.’ And I walk in and he looks at me and says, ‘Come on, we’re going to the barber shop.’” It was that company that moved Staenberg to St. Louis, in 1983.
He’s never looked back. Together with Stan Kroenke, he founded THF Realty, which became one of the nation’s largest developers. While they later had a falling-out, and Staenberg went out on his own, he bears Kroenke no ill will. ”He made a business decision,” Staenberg says of Kroenke’s decision to move the Rams to Los Angeles.
Unlike Kroenke’s NFL team, Staenberg has no desire to leave St. Louis—but he admits he has grown tired of the infighting that has plagued the region. ”Stop talking, do something, [and] make these projects happen for St. Louis,” he says. “That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Overall, Staenberg believes St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer and St. Louis County Executive Sam Page are doing a good job, but thinks the region needs more showstopping projects to show companies that this is a place their employees will be happy. He cites the Brickline Greenway now underway in the city of St. Louis as a great example and hopes Downtown Chesterfield can play a similar role.
”This isn’t trying to steal people from downtown or taking people from Clayton,” he says. “Let’s bring more people here and allow the big corporations to see we have something. If they see something like this, they’re gonna say, ‘Well, maybe we want to move our headquarters here.’”
The Staenberg Group completed demolition of Chesterfield Mall in May and is now working on grading, utilities, and other basic infrastructure. They hope to have the first Downtown Chesterfield residents moved in by 2029.
Hear more from Michael Staenberg about his vision for the development, what drives his philanthropy, and how he handles the high school question on The 314 Podcast.
