By Marshall Griffin, KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – Developers for the $600 million Ballpark Village project at St. Louis' Busch Stadium gave a state agency an update in Jefferson City today.
The St. Louis Cardinals and their partners are hoping the Missouri Development Finance Board will kick in $188 million in tax incentives for Ballpark Village.
Bill Dewitt III is Cardinals' president.
"There (are) some new board members, and I think we've hopefully given them everything they need to put us on the calendar, hopefully for a vote, at some point soon," Dewitt said.
First-phase plans for Ballpark Village include 600,000 square feet of office, retail and entertainment space. And if the housing market improves, Dewitt says the second phase could include condos.
Initial plans had called for the first phase to be finished in time for this year's Major League All-Star game at Busch Stadium, but construction was delayed after the Centene Corporation pulled out of the project.
John Fougere with the Missouri Department of Economic Development says no decisions have been made yet on awarding tax incentives.
"This is a very complex project...we have new members on the (Mo. Development) Finance Board, we're going to make sure they have all the information that they need to have to be up to speed on all projects under consideration, but certainly one as significant as Ballpark Village," Fougere said.
A vote on tax incentives could come at next month's meeting, but that may be delayed until later.