Deal is done on Ballpark Village! (Finally)

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They will begin turning dirt on the big hole in the ground next to Busch Stadium before the summer is over.

That's the word from sources close to the Ballpark Village negotiations, cited in a St. Louis Business Journal report.

I won't bore you with all the gory details, but suffice it to say that the city, and in turn you, will not be footing as much of the bill as the developers wanted. In the end, according to the report, it was all about the art of compromise.

"Everyone gave up something in the deal. Cordish did not get the city-guaranteed financing on the project. City officials have always pushed for new residential units to be a part of the deal, but relented. The Cardinals unquestionably want to polish the image of the organization, which has taken a P.R. beating as no progress has been made on the site.

Construction won't be completed as previously planned by next year's All-Star Game in St. Louis. But work will be under way on a massive development that will give fans and visitors something to look at besides a vacant lot."

I was pleased to see in an interview last week on Fox 2, that Cardinals president Bill DeWitt, III's lovely office overlooks the Ballpark Village site. Further, he was well aware of all the "Lake DeWitt" jokes we've all been cracking for months. Whether or not those two things had something to do with a deal being pushed through, I don't know. But it's nice to see there was daily pressure (in a very overt form) on some of the big whigs to get this done.

So put away you're "Lake DeWitt" jokes, but don't check your sense of humor completely. If history is a guide, the Cordish Group, who is developing the site, will provide plenty of fodder for construction delay and cost overrun jokes!