CHESTERFIELD, Mo. — In just a matter of days, Chesterfield Mall will be no more. Retailers there have until the end of the month to close up shop, making way for what developers are calling a Downtown Chesterfield.
The mall has stood for five decades.
"It is incredibly bittersweet,” said Amber Westerson, who recalls not just memories with friends—she also worked there.
“I was here when we tore down the JCPenney building and built this three-level wing that we’re in now. It was a brand-new food court, AMC Theatre, Cheesecake Factory,” she reminisced.
That's where 5 On Your Side stood with the developer behind the major rehaul to create a Downtown Chesterfield.
"We’re right in the middle of the park. There's a park in the very middle, the center, that serves as the hub of the project. And right in the middle of the park, we'll be surrounded by multifamily and retail,” said Tim Lowe of The Staenberg Group. He’s excited about the 200,000 square-feet of retail space. "It's a combination of better-quality national retailers that you would see in normal shopping malls like The Galleria or West County and really cool kind of local boutiques all operating in a smaller place."
It took collaborating with community groups who were initially resistant. Now developers say they've reached a united way forward—adding public green space, walking trails and bike paths.
It's meant retailers will have to vacate.
"Only a few days,” Sarah Hajek said while packing up. She works for Piddle Crick Hill Mercantile. "We’ve got to get the rest of our items out… We’re going to move down into the valley and we’re renting a place down there."
The former Macy's building will stay, but it will be re-purposed. Developers say Dillard’s, which also pushed back initially, will remodel its store to remain in the development.
"This is the ability to take a mall that finished its useful life and create a high-end urban downtown… that doesn't exist anywhere in St. Louis, that will be a regional draw for everyone here in this market,” Staenberg said.
The mall will be demolished in October with the first phase of the development expected to open in four years.
"When Chesterfield was incorporated in 1998, there was no downtown area, but the city of Chesterfield kind of grew up around Chesterfield Mall," Mayor Bob Nation said. "This is the opportunity to have a downtown Chesterfield created kind of after the fact. That's pretty unique I think.”