HAZELWOOD, Mo. – POWERplex, a massive youth sports complex in the works for several years at the former St. Louis Mills Mall site, has adjusted its development plans to include a future industrial park.
Industrial Commercial Properties has partnered with POWERplex as part of an effort to fill up 600,000 square feet not originally planned for sporting events. ICP will serve as a co-owner for various assets of the site.
Dan Buck, managing partner for Big Sports Properties LLC, touts the new addition as a strong complementary mixed-use development that will help with traffic to the site throughout normal work-week hours.
“We’ve redesigned and relocated some things to make room for a business park,” said Buck in a phone call with FOX 2. “That’s going to complement our campus and help us redesign and redevelop much quicker and more efficiently and create a more dynamic people flow throughout the course of the week,” said Buck.
New plans could mean changes to the location of some indoor and outdoor components of the POWERplex, but Buck says the number of sports offerings, fields and venues originally planned, and the amount of space they cover, will not change.
“We believe the redesign has made it a tighter, more dynamic and less spread-out campus for our sports families,” said Dan Buck. “I think when people see the new and improved POWERplex campus plan, they’re going to love it.”
Some formalities of the plan are still being ironed out in the upcoming weeks, including zoning and private financing agreements on behalf of the City of Hazelwood. Buck says a special meeting in December could clear both hurdles and lead to a green light on the mixed-use development for good. He adds all private financing for the project has been secured.
“We will still be the largest sports venue in the state of Missouri, among the top 10 largest in the country with the total square footage that we have planned for our space,” said Buck. “What ICP has been able to bring is kind of complete the rest of the project very quickly into provide another totally different use of traffic flow to our campus.”
According to a news release, POWERplex would consist of the following in its latest plan:
Six Turfed Ballfields for baseball, softball, lacrosse, 7v7 flag football, include a stadiumEight outdoor 5v5 soccer fields (third-party development)18-Court Volleyball VenueSeven Beach Volleyball Courts (five indoors)Gymnastics Training CenterFitness and Athlete Training CenterFour Pickleball CourtsNHL Ice Rink (Ice Zone)84,000 square-foot event center (Eight courts for basketball, dance, cheerleading, wresting, MMA,, etc.)105,000 square-foot amusement and go-kart zoneGolf Simulators Bar and GrillMicro-brewery 12 Restaurants and EateriesConvenience store
ICP, based in Ohio, has worked with large-scale malls for similar mixed-use concepts in the past. The industrial park component could include a variety of offices, warehouses and manufacturing facilities.
Pending approval, Buck expects most components of the POWERplex and the industrial park to open by next summer. A separate phase of development projects calls for a 750′ by 300′ Dome near the entrance of the main campus. Buck also envisions new hotels, c-stores, and restaurants for empty parcels surrounding the mall, though with leadership from independent developers.
FOX 2 reached out to Industrial Commercial Properties and Hazelwood City Manager Matt Zimmerman for further comment on the new development plans. Zimmerman, in a voicemail Wednesday morning, confirmed the plans are in progress.