ST. LOUIS — If you've been downtown recently, you've probably seen all the construction going on around Ballpark Village.
The second phase reached a milestone Wednesday as leaders, workers and developers gathered for the topping out ceremony of the office building. The new name of the office building will be PwC Pennant Building. It's been a generation since a new office building was built in downtown St. Louis.
PricewaterhouseCoopers will occupy the top floors of the 11-story building. Butcher Joseph and Company will relocate its offices from Clayton to the new building. Construction is on pace for the office building to open in September.
Bill DeWitt III, President of the St. Louis Cardinals, says he "couldn't be more excited about the future of downtown and I think this project, as well as those others, will be a catalyst for development".
Some of the other downtown development includes the renovated Arch grounds, Soldiers Memorial, renovations to the Enterprise Center and upgrades to Union Station including the new aquarium and a giant Ferris wheel.
St. Louis mayor Lyda Krewson says last year, the city had a record $1.22 Billion in construction permits were issued in the city and in the last couple of years, we have $8.5 billion either recently completed or under construction.
More than 70,000 work hours on this project have been completed by a female and minority workforce with 40% of the contracts awarded to women- and minority-owned businesses.
The office building is expected to open in September, the Onelife Fitness in December and the hotel and apartments sometime next year.