Courtesy of Pier Property Group
Steelcote Square District
There's a resurgence happening in the heart of the city. Large-scale projects, such as CITYPARK, City Foundry STL, and Armory STL, have created buzz about Midtown and Downtown West, where 21c Museum Hotel recently opened in the former YMCA building. Look a bit farther south, though, and you'll see more infrastructure on the rise. Topgolf is preparing to open this year, while Pier Property Group is transforming the nearby former Steelcote Manufacturing Company in dramatic ways. The Edwin will house 199 apartments—and a 70,000-square-foot Target, with construction slated to wrap next February.
Courtesy of Great Rivers Greenway
The Brickline Greenway along Market Street
In June, The New York Times wrote about the Brickline Greenway, which "seems to be spiriting the city in a positive direction," serving as both a shared-use path and "a public reckoning of the city’s racist history—and its impact on Black residents today." Case in point: the 2-mile completed stretch through downtown, which runs beside "Pillars of the Valley” (artist Damon Davis' tribute outside CITYPARK to the displaced residents of Mill Creek Valley), past a bronze statue of attorney Frankie Muse Freeman (the first Black woman on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission) and the Old Courthouse (site of the landmark Dred Scott case), and to the Gateway Arch ("plagued by its own history of displacing poor Black residents during construction in the early to mid-1960s"). "When it is finished in 2030," Ron Stodghill wrote in the NYT, "10 miles of new trails will connect 14 mostly Black St. Louis-area neighborhoods." Two segments are complete, and an additional three are in design phases.
Photography courtesy of Gateway South
Just south of the Gateway Arch National Park, along the riverfront, St. Louis–based Good Developments Group is reportedly planning to transform the site known as Chouteau’s Landing. "Gateway South will spur the advancement of the building industry by fostering connection and collaboration of its ambitious pioneers," the developer says. "It will incorporate an array of leasable spaces—industrial, office, studio, research—and will be amenity-rich, with programs tailored to industry needs and connections to downtown St. Louis and the Arch."
Courtesy of NGA
Next NGA West
In nearby North City, construction is underway on the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's $1.7 billion western headquarters. Today, the main operations building and visitor control center exteriors are complete, and two parking garages are nearly finished. When employees arrive, in 2026, they’ll have access to such amenities as a courtyard, coffee bar, and mile-long walking trail.
Courtesy of Delmar Maker District
Delmar Maker District
Just east of the Delmar Loop, the Delmar Maker District is picking up momentum. New additions have sprouted up near Third Degree Glass Factory, The Magic House and MADE for Kids, and Craft Alliance, including Brew Tulum and Maker’s Locale (a multi-use facility housing Alpha Brewing, as well as a second location of Steve’s Hot Dogs and a spinoff of The Fountain on Locust, aptly named The Fountain Off Locust). And restaurateur Ben Poremba, who recently opened Deli Divine inside the nearby Delmar DivINe, has announced that he plans to relocate several of his acclaimed restaurants—including Elia, Olio, and Nixta—from Botanical Heights to the Delmar Maker District next year.
Saint Louis Zoo
The events center at WildCare Park
Saint Louis Zoo's WildCare Park + Destination Discovery
The Saint Louis Zoo has wild plans for 425 acres in North County. Slated to open in 2027, its forthcoming $230 million experiential conservation area will likely house such animals as giraffes, white rhinos, Grevy’s zebras, gazelles, antelope, camels, and ostriches. Guests will be able to take safaris through woodlands and savanna, feed the giraffes, and stay in luxury cabins. In the meantime, plans for the 2.8-acre Destination Discovery, slated to open in 2026 on the former site of the Emerson Children’s Zoo in the zoo's existing Forest Park location, include providing a place where visitors can watch macaws fly overhead, see a tasmanian devil up close, and explore an underground tunnel system.
Rendering courtesy of Johnson Studio
After already dramatically transforming Union Station and The Cheshire, among other high-profile projects, Lodging Hospitality Management (LHM) is continuing its revival of Westport Plaza with a number of noteworthy additions. Soda Fountain Express, a retro-inspired burger joint, is slated to open in October. 360 West, a spin-off of popular downtown restaurant Three Sixty, is scheduled to open in December. And a 1-acre park in the heart of the plaza is supposed to open by year's end. That's not to mention The Porter, a 255-unit apartment complex, which is expected to open in the first quarter of 2025.
Dierbergs Markets
Crestwood Crossing
The former Crestwood mall site in South County is getting a new lease on life. The mixed-use development's retail component centers around a 70,000-square-foot Dierbergs, which opened in March. Other future retail tenants include Crumbl Cookies, Mercy-GoHealth Urgent Care, Club Pilates, Panera Bread, Eye See Vision Center, and Roosters Men’s Grooming Center. Construction is also underway on the Townes at Crestwood Crossing, a subdivision of 81 single-family residences built by McBride Homes, with construction slated for completion by mid-2024. A pedestrian bridge connecting the development to Grant’s Trail is also expected to open in the next month.
courtesy of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
With former Arch Grants director Emily Lohse-Busch at the helm, Creve Coeur’s 600-acre ag tech innovation district is starting to take shape, after years of discussion and seven regional organizations coming together to create the district. The idea behind the 600-acre campus: to foster a regional hub for ag tech talent, with a mix of residential, office, retail, and outdoor spaces.
Courtesy of CRG / Clayco
St. Charles Riverpointe
As St. Charles County continues to grow, so too do plans along the banks of the Missouri River, near the bustling Streets of St. Charles development, where Napoli Sea recently opened. Just west of Bangert Island, the ambitious 120-acre Riverpointe project reimagines the riverfront, with "office buildings, 500 apartments, 150 hotel units, 100,000 square feet of riverfront restaurants and retail, all likely incorporating rooftop patios and gardens to take advantage of the lake and river views." Plans call for an additional 75–200 townhouses or condos, an amphitheater, and a pedestrian bridge. Construction is currently underway on Chicken N Pickle, a pickleball venue and restaurant near the Streets of St. Charles that's slated to open this fall.
Image by Nelsen Partners, courtesy of The Staenberg Group
Drive through Chesterfield, and you’ll see developer Michael Staenberg’s impact seemingly everywhere. In the valley, he's breathed new life into the former Taubman Prestige Outlets site with The District, which spans several popular entertainment venues (The Factory, Main Event, Topgolf) and the burgeoning area know as The Hub (with a new 4 Hands Brewing Co. location). Across the highway, Staenberg owns a retail strip known as Chesterfield Valley Square. And his company, The Staenberg Group, played a role in developing the nearby state-of-the-art Maryville University Hockey Center. Perhaps his biggest project, however, is still on the horizon, as he looks to transform the Chesterfield Mall site into a “true downtown.” The Staenberg Group has proposed an ambitious mixed-use development, including a park, walking and bike paths, more than 2,500 apartments, a boutique hotel, and more. After years of discussion and debate, the proposal recently received approval from the Chesterfield City Council. As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in early September, "Demolition of the mall isn’t expected to begin until late 2024 at the earliest, and The Staenberg Group will need to get council approval for detailed construction plans for the site."
Note: This article has been updated from an earlier version.
