Downtown Chesterfield Grand Entry: Plans to Connect Central Park

How will you get from the new downtown to the Chesterfield Amphitheater lawn without a car? Chesterfield is answering that question this fall. The answer will be built into the hillside along West Chesterfield Parkway long before any storefront opens on the old mall site.

On Sept. 24, Chesterfield City Hall held an open house to show layout options for what the city calls the "grand entry." It is a public hillside connecting Downtown Chesterfield with Central Park, meant for walking, gathering, and recreation. The site covers about 3.89 acres on West Chesterfield Parkway, between Park Circle Drive and the planned Downtown Chesterfield Boulevard. Most coverage of the redevelopment is about tenants and towers. The open house was about something more basic: the route people will walk.

A hill with a 48-foot drop

The hill sets the problem. The grand entry has to cover about 48 feet of elevation. The plans use stairs, an accessible ramp with switchbacks, and a path through a grassy area, with planting beds placed between the ramps.

"It's a 48-foot grade change from top to bottom," Brown told First Alert 4 at the meeting. "So we have to come up with a way that transports people quickly and safely down the hillside, but we also want to provide an opportunity for them to slow down and savor the environment."

A connection that steep is a design job before it is a construction job. The firms at the open house were Kanopi Gap and Lamar Johnson Collaborative Design and Engineering. City staff were also there to take questions. "We want this space to become a memorable part of Chesterfield," Public Works Director James Eckrich said. "Community feedback will help shape its design, character and experience."

The $5 million question at the bottom of the hill

Once people reach the bottom of the slope, they have to cross Chesterfield Parkway. That crossing is where the two options split, and where the costs part ways.

A full traffic signal is the obvious middle option, and it is unlikely. Assistant City Engineer Zachary Wolff said the Missouri Department of Transportation would not allow a signal so close to the one at Lydia Hill Road. That means the street-level option is a marked crosswalk with flashing beacons, and nothing that stops traffic on a timed cycle.

Lydia Hill already matters to anyone who goes to shows at the Amphitheater. The venue sends eventgoers to parking in and around Central Park, including the main lot and the garage at Lydia Hill Drive and Veterans Place Drive. The garage it lists is on Lydia Hill Drive, the same name as the signal that rules out a second one on the parkway.

Who pays, and who decides

Ownership of the decision is the reason this matters more than any tenant announcement. The Staenberg Group donated the roughly 3.9-acre site and paid $300,000 for its design. In exchange, the City of Chesterfield coordinates the design and construction. The developer controls most of Downtown Chesterfield. This one link to Central Park is a city project, and the vote belongs to City Council.

Resident feedback is meant to support that vote. Brown said public input would go "a long way towards giving council the backup that they need to make the decision on a project that could cost $5 million-$10 million when all is said and done." The architects will use the input to make final changes, then send a proposal to council. As of early October 2026, no council vote date or construction start date for the grand entry has been announced.

The city also asked residents to choose between two planting approaches:

• Native garden: cultivated native and adapted plants, described as "a layered garden with seasonal color, habitat value and an immersive landscape experience."
• Flexible lawn: a more open design with planted edges, supporting informal recreation, gathering, and clear views across the site.

Attendees spoke to First Alert 4 about both. "We need to keep as much nature there as possible," said Chesterfield resident Catherine Crismon. Cheryl Williams, another resident, suggested water features.

"I think it's absolutely great, I live in Chesterfield because of it. It's a very forward-moving community, it's a great community." Mark Ivancic, Chesterfield resident, to First Alert 4

The connection is being settled years before the crowds

Timing explains why this decision is coming up now. Here is what the forecasts say about the mall site.

1. Today. Work continues on infrastructure: utilities, roads, parks, and bike paths. Vertical development is expected once that is finished, according to Tim Lowe, vice president of Leasing and Development at The Staenberg Group.
2. Spring 2027. West Newsmagazine reports that grading and infrastructure are expected to last until then, when vertical construction should begin. The developer's own timeline lists park construction for Fall 2026 and residential construction starting Spring 2027.
3. Fall 2029. The same developer timeline forecasts the first residents moving in.

These dates have already moved once. The October 2024 schedule called for a park opening in summer 2026 and a Phase 1 opening in Fall 2028. They are forecasts, not promises.

Phase 1 is expected to include about 800 to 1,000 residential units. Lowe said the developer is closing with builders, some already signed and others still in negotiation. "We've got to have a good phase 1," he said. "You can't flood the market too much at one time." On the retail side, Dillard's is the one confirmed returning store. It plans to reopen in its retained building, and the former Macy's building is set to become retail space.

More people will live nearby even before that. Parks, Recreation and Arts Director Wayne Dunker pointed to new developments such as the Villas at Downtown Chesterfield as a reason the area will see more people living close by. The Villas are planned as about 105 single-family attached homes on roughly 16.8 acres along Chesterfield Parkway West, and the site development plan has been approved. Inside the mall site, the developer describes a 3.31-acre central park and a 1.25-mile pedestrian loop. The grand entry is what would connect that loop to Central Park's paths.

What sits at the bottom of the hill this October

The Central Park side of the crossing already has a regular calendar. The Chesterfield Amphitheater is at 631 Veterans Place Drive. Two free October events on the Amphitheater's calendar show what the hillside would one day feed into:

• Wednesday, Oct. 7: Movies Under the Stars shows Hotel Transylvania, with doors at 5:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 17: The Chesterfield Fall Festival opens at 1 p.m. with food vendors, craft and market vendors, carnival rides, a pumpkin patch, and a hayride. Russo & Co. plays from 1 to 4 p.m., and Box of Chocolates takes the main stage from 4 to 6 p.m.

At the District this weekend: 

• Saturday, Oct. 10: Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce 50th Anniversary Celebration and FALL FESTIVAL on Saturday, October 10, 11am-2pm at The District of St. Louis!

  Vehicle Displays — Check out Monarch Fire Department and Chesterfield Police Department vehicle displays.

  Local Vendors — Discover local businesses, products, and community organizations.

  Face Painting — Let the kids get creative with fun, festive designs.

  Balloon Twisting — Enjoy colorful balloon creations made just for you.

  Foam Geeks — Get ready for an unforgettable foam-filled experience!
  Event is FREE and open to the public!

Today, the Amphitheater points festival guests to parking lots in and around Central Park. After the grand entry is built, people will be able to walk down a 48-foot slope from a new downtown, and the crossing council picks will decide whether they wait for flashing beacons or pass over the traffic. Whatever is chosen, this fall's festival goers would use it on every future visit.

Homes near Central Park will feel these changes, and buyers will start asking about them before Downtown Chesterfield is finished. With a background in interior design and decades of work in western St. Louis County, Chris looks at how a home presents against what is changing around it, from a planned crossing to a park under construction. If you'd like to talk through how the Downtown Chesterfield timeline fits your own plans, schedule a consultation with Chris Neskar.

One potential grand entrance design option featuring a bridge across Chesterfield Parkway. (Photo courtesy of LJC, Kanopi Gap)