Special focus on kids in plan
for giant Hazelwood mall

Over a year ago, a team of Kirby Middle School seventh graders did an audience survey for the developer of a proposed new mall in Hazelwood. A developer's representative went to the school to hear the survey results.

Final plans announced this summer show the St. Louis Mills mall will have a super emphasis on kids. It will even showcase famous Public Broadcasting System characters from "Sesame Street" and "Barney and Friends."

In June, the Mills Corp., the mall developer, and PBS signed to cooperate to bring Ernie the Muppet, Barney the Dinosaur and others to the mall. It's all part of an effort to make mall shopping more fun for all family members.

David D'Onofrio is the director of corporate communications for the Mills Corp., the mall developer. He said, "The St. Louis Mills mall will be the first one built from the ground up with the PBS characters." The mall is scheduled to open in Fall, 2003.

He said the Hazelwood mall will have a whole PBS Kids "neighborhood" of special kids' stores, features and events.

Young Saint Louis.com doesn't usually focus on commercial developments. But, in April, 2001, YSL.com carried the earlier story about special research that Kirby kids did for the Mills Corp. and the city of Hazelwood. (To read that story, just click here.)

Then, when Mills Corp. announced the final plans, it was even fuller of kids things than the Kirby students envisions. YSL.com thought you'd like to hear about how adults often take advice from kids when planning new community developments.

D'Onofrio said, "We know that shopping in a typical mall isn't fun for every member of the family." He said the collaboration with PBS is an effort to bring some fun for the younger kids in a family.

He said St. Louis Mills also will have other special things for older kids. The Kirby Middle School survey indicated the type of stores these older kids want to see. They ranged from regular department stores to hip-hop-oriented shops.

One restaurant often named was Dave and Buster's, which has a mix of games and food.

D'Onofrio said, "We are planning malls that will keep the families up to three or four times as long as trips to typical malls would."

The New York Times recently had a major feature on the agreement between Mills Corp. and PBS. The article appeared the same day the Mills Corp. was announcing its final plans for the St. Louis Mills mall.

It said the PBS Kids "neighborhood" would include appearances by PBS characters. Also, special kiosks would feature PBS merchandise and also special reading nooks for kids.

There will be PBS-designed interactive games and, of course, PBS T-shirts and clothing.

Mills Corp. also is reaching out to other groups with other products for kids. For instance, it recently opened a Binney and Smith's Crayola Works in its Baltimore mall. This is combination store and creative arts studio for kids.

For older kids, Mills recently opened a skateboard park in Atlanta in cooperation with ESPN. That's the TV network which often televises national skateboard competitions.

The NYT article quoted a vice president of program for the X Games, Ron Semaio. He said, "Skateboard parks are the ball fields of the 21st Century. This is grass-roots marketing that allows us to promote X Games telecasts in a casual environment."

Larry Costello is project manager for the St. Louis Mills mall. He was quoted in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that a skateboard park in St. Louis Mills was "a possibility."

The decision to put such heavy emphasis on kids at the mall is a very important one. That's not only for the Mills Corp., but also for the city of Hazelwood.

Hazelwood Mayor T.R. Carr said the mall will provide 2,000 full-time and 1,500 part-time jobs. As many as 1,000 other people will work during seasons like Christmas and Easter.

Also, 2,000 workers will do construction at the $250 million mall. The 1.2 million square-foot mall will have 200 stores. D'Onofrio said many of them will be for kids.

In part, plans for St. Louis Mills were based what kids wanted. So, the work of Kirby kids and others around the country were important to the final planning.

What kids are thinking about their community is important. Hazelwood Mayor Carr said St. Louis Mills will be "an incredible economic engine" for the city.

To learn more about the Mills Corp. check www.millscorp.com. A separate website for the St. Louis Mills project is being developed. Also, you can learn more about PBS Kids by going to pbs.org.