By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – Developers broke ground Tuesday on a $290 million development in what will be called the Bottle District.
Slated as an entertainment district, the project will cover more than seven blocks just north of the Edward Jones Dome and will include a concert hall, a bowling alley, restaurants, and a Grand Prix race track.
Jim Cloar, president of the Downtown St. Louis Partnership, says the development fills a gap north of downtown.
It starts really connecting downtown with the redeveloping neighborhoods close by including Old North St. Louis, Cloar said. There's some great stories going on in the neighborhoods and some great stories going on downtown, but now this helps fill in the gaps so they all tie in together.
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay says with the recent ground-breaking of the Pinnacle Entertainment casino and resort project on Laclede's Landing, the area is getting a $700 million infusion.
"We're seeing more interest, more development, and more investment in St. Louis now than we've seen in a long, long time, Slay said, and all indications are that it's going to continue into the future.
Daniel Libeskind, the architect of the new World Trade Center, is involved in the project's design, which includes three condo towers. The tallest will equal the height of the Arch.
The development is expected to open in 2007.
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