First Indoor Mall in History Coming to Ladue By Early Summer

The shuttered Busch’s Grove location finally will get a whole new look. In a major feature just out in Town & Style Magazine, Southwestern Enterprise’s Inc. owner Lou Cella indicated that Ladue will be getting its first-ever indoor mall. This development will be known as The Shops at Clay Price Corner.

The reconfigured design will be 14,000 square feet, occupied by upscale boutiques. Cella and his investors held out for years trying to bring an upscale restaurant to the abandoned Busch’s Grove location.

IlBellago of Creve Coeur took a shot at this location, as did EdgeWild of Chesterfield. Rumors were that Tony’s, a 5-star restaurant in downtown St. Louis was interested too?

All of those deals fell through for one reason or another.

The last version after Busch’s Grove closed its 100+ year run was a boutique grocery store which closed down more than a year ago.

Unfortunately, the massive structure became Ladue's white elephant. When Lester Miller built it out, he left a $10 million kitchen behind. It never connected directly to the restaurant area. That just didn't work for those looking at it," said Cella.

"So enough was enough, and we decided to turn it into retail space. Once you enter the building, there will be a main foyer where you can go straight ahead, left or right. We have some tire kickers, we have some folks showing interest already," he said.

Construction is underway, and space will be available for rent by early summer. "We are looking for high end specialty shops," he said.

Signage will be up by Wednesday.

The boutiques will range in size from 500 feet up to 5,000 feet according to Cella.

There will be 4-10 shops depending on the needs and demands of new stores coming in.

Cella is no newcomer to Ladue. He first developed the Clay Price Center next door to the west, then built out the very successful MarketPlace in Ladue further down Clayton Road. Southwestern Enterprises often gets high praises from its shop owners for outstanding working relationships and upkeep of its properties.

Want to inquire about available space, call 314-241-1945.