Ballpark Village has been part of a quarter-century of growth in Downtown St. Louis

On Nov. 19, more than 150 civic, business and community leaders gathered inside Crown Hall for A Toast to Downtown, brought together by Ballpark Village President Mike LaMartina. The event had no agenda and offered no new initiative. Instead, it quieted the noise to acknowledge the long arc of change that has reshaped St. Louis’ urban core over the last 25 years. The event recognized the people whose steady work built a downtown the rest of us simply get to enjoy.

A generation ago, roughly 1,000 people lived downtown. Today, more than 11,000 do. That shift did not come from one project or one administration. It emerged from sustained decisions across public, private and nonprofit sectors, paired with thousands of individual choices.

Between 1999 and 2006, more than $4 billion was invested in downtown through the Downtown Now! Action Plan and other revitalization efforts. That period laid the foundation for renewed residential development, new public spaces and the restoration of long-vacant buildings. It marked the beginning of a modern Downtown, one that departed significantly from the previous era of disinvestment.

The next decade brought the CityArchRiver transformation. The renovation reconnected the Gateway Arch grounds to the surrounding street grid and riverfront, and modernized the visitor experience. According to the Gateway Arch Park Foundation’s 2025 economic impact report, events in 2024 drew more than 75,000 attendees and generated $9.7 million in regional economic impact, while the construction phase contributed nearly $600 million to the local economy. Visitorship exceeded 2.5 million in the same year.

This period also produced a series of high-profile projects that reshaped the character of Downtown. Union Station has become a major family attraction. Internationally renowned sculpture park Citygarden helped connect Downtown with Downtown West through public art. Ballpark Village opened, generating 5,900 jobs and more than $1.3 billion in fiscal impact so far. The renovations of Soldiers Memorial and Central Library, and the arrival of destinations like 21C Museum Hotel and Energizer Park elevated the downtown experience.

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