Cardinals, developers break ground on Ballpark Village hotel

The St. Louis Cardinals, the Cordish Cos. and Loews Hotels & Co. officially broke ground Tuesday on the new $65 million Live! by Loews hotel being built as part of phase two of Ballpark Village. 

The eight-story hotel, which will include 216 guest rooms, is the first local hotel for New York-based Loews Hotels. The hotel is designed by HKS Architects Hospitality Studio and expected to open in 2020. In addition to the ground breaking, new renderings of the hotel were released Tuesday. 

Amenities at the Live! by Loews hotel will include a great room, outdoor terrace, display kitchen, wine bar, bourbon bar and meeting and event space. The exterior of the building will include a six-story mural that shows “the footprints of Busch Memorial Stadium (Busch II) and the current Busch Stadium,” officials said. 

Tuesday’s groundbreaking included remarks from Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals; executives from the Cordish Cos. and Loews Hotels; Kitty Ratcliffe, president of Explore St. Louis; and St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson. Cardinals hall of famer Ozzie Smith emceed the ceremony. 

Ballpark Village is currently undergoing a $260 million, 700,000-square-foot expansion. In addition to the Live! by Loews hotel, the expansion includes construction of a 29-story residential tower, a Class A Office building that will be anchored by PwC and a three-story retail space that Onelife Fitness will anchor. 

Phase two of Ballpark Village is expected to create 1,500 construction jobs and more than 1,000 permanent jobs. 

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