ST. LOUIS (AP) - Developers are hoping to give St. Louis Union Station a revival with construction of a new entertainment area, one that will include a roller coaster and a 200-foot Ferris wheel.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1AwOCx7) reports that the $60 million project involves remodeling the largely vacant retail area as entertainment attractions. The roller coast will pass over a small lake, and the Ferris wheel will rise tall enough to offer a panoramic view of downtown. It will be enclosed gondolas that are both heated and air-conditioned.
Other attractions will include a carousel and what is described as a "water mist light show."
Construction is expected to start next month and be completed in 2016, said Bob O'Loughlin, chief executive of Union Station's owner, Lodging Hospitality Management.
"We're really excited about the project," O'Loughlin said. "We think it will be good for conventions and tourism."
The city's Tax Increment Financing Commission on Wednesday approved $18.5 million in tax increment financing assistance. Final approval is still needed from the St. Louis Board of Aldermen.
The project is in line for about 30 percent of its total cost to come from TIF assistance, which is often limited at 20 percent of a project's cost. Richard Ward, a longtime economic development consultant and principal of St. Louis-based Ward Development Counsel, said the higher percentage of public aid might be justified because Union Station is a treasured building and a source of civic pride.
Ward said the entertainment center will make Union Station similar to City Museum as a magnet for children and their families.
Otis Williams, executive director of the St. Louis Development Corp., cited the jobs and tax revenue that will be generated, and said the project offers "another new reason to come or stay downtown longer."
The development corporation estimates that the entertainment attractions will produce about 350 jobs and could draw 1 million visitors annually.