Kids influence content of new shopping mall

PBS's Big Bird and Barney, ESPN's Xtreme sports and NASCAR racing cars are coming to a new St. Louis shopping mall.

There's also the St. Louis Blues' practice facility and an 18-screen movie complex. The movie complex will be the first installation by Regal Cinema in the St. Louis area.

All these youth-influenced features are included in the new St. Louis Mills mall because kids' interests are very important to retail merchants. The mall is located off I-370 in northwest St. Louis County. It will open November 13.

Two years ago, St. Louis area kids began telling mall developers what they'd like in a new mall. In 2001, seventh graders at Kirby Middle School collected a "wish list" of mall features in a survey of 246 kids.

Last spring, mall officials gave another group of North County kids a briefing about all the kids-oriented features of the mall.

The emphasis on kids and their families in the St. Louis Mills mall is very strong.

The big mall will be divided into six "neighborhoods." That's their name for sections that include activities and stores into special theme areas.

Two of the six "neighborhoods" are focused primarily on kids and their families.

One is called the "PBS Kids Neighborhood." The mall will be the first in the country where PBS and Mills will cooperate on such a grouping. The local PBS station, KETC-TV, also will be a local collaborator.

The "PBS Kids Neighborhood" will include a play area with climbing structures. Also, there will be interactive computer terminals, a story garden and a video screen. Also, there's a miniature stage where kids can act out their own plays.

The whole area will be themed with characters from the PBS TV shows.

There's a smaller kids area which is themed after the kid's book, "A Place to Grow." That's named after an inspirational kids' book by author Stephanie Blum.

Another big kids-oriented section is the "SportStreet Neighborhood." There's a real ice-skating rink, an indoor skateboard park and both indoor and outdoor car-racing tracks.

The St. Louis Blues are relocating their practice facilities to the mall. Their practices will be open to the public, free of charge. The skateboard park is built to ESPN Xtreme Sports specifications.

When the Blues aren't practicing, the ice rink will be open to the public. The skateboard park will be open to the public for in-line skates and BMX bikes as well as skateboards.

The car-racing tracks will be for miniature NASCAR-type cars. The indoor track will have electric car for the public. There will be three outdoor tracks for use by various sized miniature racing cars.

Retail stores that fit both the PBS and SportStreet themes are grouped around the "neighborhoods."

Larry Costello is a Mills Corp. vice president who is directing the mall construction.

He said designing all these learning and entertainment features into a mall does increase construction costs. But, he said, "We think it's worth it."

He said the new features will "appeal to a broader family." He added, "There is something for everyone. That will mean longer and more frequent visits to our mall."

He gave special attention to the decision by the St. Louis Blues hockey team to relocate to St. Louis Mills mall. "We think that is a win-win-win situation," he said.

He acknowledges that the mall gains by having a popular professional team practice at its facilities. He said the Blues "win" with use of the mall's rink. "And the public wins because practices are open to the public for free," he said.

Young Saint Louis.com has followed how the Mills Corp. has developed its strong kids' emphasis by working with St. Louis school groups.

In April, 2001, YSL.com ran an article discussing the Kirby Middle School survey on what local kids would like to see in the mall. Then, in August, 2002, this website ran another story telling about the collaboration between PBS and Mills Corp.

The PBS-Mills alliance will cover four malls. The first is St. Louis. Future malls with "PBS Kids Neighborhood" sections will be in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

Last spring's briefing for another kids group by Mills officials also focused on the value of kids' ideas in modern retail marketing. These contacts help school kids understand how they can influence developments in their communities.