$200M Entertainment District to Refresh St. Louis

The city of St. Louis will be shaken up when construction begins on a $200 million, pedestrian-friendly entertainment area surrounding the Edward Jones Dome in Downtown. The 15-acre Bottle District, named for the antique bottles unearthed in the area, is being built by BDP L.L.C. and will break ground on its first phase at the end of December.

The initial phase of the development, which will take up three blocks, includes such marquee entertainment attractions as an F1 St. Louis cart-racing facility, a Rawlings All American Grille, a Cabo Wabo Cantina, and a bowling alley and concert venue. That part of the project is already 90 percent occupied, according to Matt Bernsen, marketing director for BDP.

He added that the second phase, which will construct a residential tower, 45,000 square feet of retail and another 45,000 square feet of office space, beginning in March 2006, is in pre-sales and is performing well, particularly since plans for The Bottle District were only released to the public last week.

"The mayor and many of the businesses knew about the project, but we needed to keep it quiet until we were sure we were able to secure tenants," Bernsen said. The entire project has been in the works for more than four years, he explained, since Dan McGuire, president of McGuire Moving & Storage Co. and CEO of BDP began buying properties around the sports arena.

"Our demographics are shifting to the need for downtown living," Bernsen said. "Our district isn't the solution but the catalyst for more development and an improved Downtown."

The third phase of the Bottle District will restore a five-story, 100-year-old steel-industry facility and convert it into 60 loft units. The last phase, for a 250-room hotel, is already receiving numerous industry offers, noted Bernsen, but that project will not begin until 2008.

Clayco Construction is the lead contractor on the project, with Lighthouse Architects and the Forum Studio handling design.