The sign of Chesterfield Mall is torn down on Oct. 15, 2024 as The Staenberg Group begins its plan to create a downtown concept with residential areas, shopping and parks in the plot. Video by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
CHESTERFIELD — Aluminum panels and wood shards crashed to the ground as two yellow excavators tore at the awning that held a green Chesterfield sign on Tuesday morning, signaling the official end to Chesterfield Mall.
Kids watched the demolition out of cars parked along the Chesterfield Center. Some residents stood against the fence around the mall, wanting to see the end of an era up close. People, including the mayor, recorded the collapse of the awning — next to the empty Cheesecake Factory — before cheering.
The ceremonial demolition brings developer The Staenberg Group one step closer to its “downtown” Chesterfield project, a $2 billion investment which will build apartments, restaurants, businesses, retail, a park, bike trail and pedestrian pathways on the former mall campus.
Chesterfield Mayor Bob Nation spoke to city council members, staff and other invited attendees standing in the shopping center’s parking lot on Tuesday.
Nation, like many St. Louis-area residents, said he had fond memories of the mall, which opened in 1976 at Interstate 64 and Clarkson Road and became a social hub throughout the 80s, 90s and early 2000s.
The mayor recalled taking his three sons to look at puppies in the mall’s pet store after dinner at The Pasta House. Nation said the new downtown is an “exciting reincarnation that we have in our future.”
Michael Staenberg, president of The Staenberg Group, said he has a vision for the new downtown, which will take the next 10 years to build.
The new “downtown” concept will include shops, including Dillards, restaurants, businesses and thousands of multifamily units surrounding a 3.5-acre downtown park. About 1,500 parking spots will be built as part of the “downtown” and will be free and open to the public.
“This will be the next focal point of the St. Louis region,” Staenberg said. “It’s good for the community, it’s good for Chesterfield, it’s good for the region and we can create something that’s unique to this area.”
During the mall’s final days, residents visited to reminisce and walk through the shopping center one last time, said Tim Lowe, The Staenburg Group’s senior vice president of development.
“It’s just amazing to me the amount of sentimental value you hear from people who live in this area,” Lowe said. “[They] have memories of either they met their wife here, they went on a date here — or adults who, as kids, got dropped off and hung out in the food court.”
Lowe cited the decline of department stores, the growth of Chesterfield Valley and the opening of two nearby outlet malls as to what eventually led to the demise of the mall. The Chesterfield Mall officially closed in August. Many of its recent tenants were small businesses, incubators, community groups and nonprofits.
The Staenburg Group is also behind Chesterfield Valley Square and The District. The developer acquired the Chesterfield Mall in 2020. In 2022, Chesterfield City Council approved $353 million in tax increment financing meant to go toward paying for new infrastructure at the mall site and nearby areas.
Once demolition and razing wraps up next April, the building of horizontal infrastructure, such as roads, sidewalks, parking, sidewalks and utility installation will begin. After that, residential developers will be able to come in to build in 2026, but it will be 2028 before the first residential buildings open.
The sign of Chesterfield Mall is torn down on Oct. 15, 2024 as The Staenberg Group begins its plan to create a downtown concept with residenti…
An entry sign for Chesterfield Mall is ceremonially brought down during a kickoff party celebrating the start of the building’s demolition, on Tuesday. The 30-acre site will become Downtown Chesterfield, a mixed-use district.
Chesterfield resident Tricia Capps and her children watch from outside the fences as the ceremonial beginning of demolition happens at the old Chesterfield Mall on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. “They all love construction sites, especially excavators,” said Capps. “My husband grew up going to the mall. He said it’s bittersweet to see it go.”
Bricks from the old Chesterfield Mall were given away as souvenirs during the ceremonial beginning of demolition on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. The 30-acre site will become Downtown Chesterfield, a mixed-use district.