Shopping center rises from former Heege School site
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| Erica Burrus photo -- Construction on Mackenzie Crossing is moving rapidly and developers expect a September opening. |
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Mackenzie Crossing is a 17,000- square-foot development being built by McClain Properties. The retail center, which features 13 spaces, will also have 66 parking spaces and vehicle access from both Mackenzie and Heege roads.
McClain Properties is shooting for a late September opening, depending on the weather, said Kevin Ruzicka, of McClain Properties,“It’s going to be all retail, although it can be built to suit tenants’ needs,” Ruzicka said. “If someone comes in with an restaurant or an urgent care facility, and says they need extra space, we can accommodate that.”
McClain currently has 35 percent of the space leased with China Garden, a sit-down restaurant that also features carry-out and pickup, and Hungry Hugo’s a carry-out and delivery-only pizza restaurant, as its first tenants, Ruzicka said.
St. Louis County Councilman Barbara Fraser said the development seems to be a very good idea.
“The area was a vacant lot, essentially, and prior to that a pretty run down school building, so I think it’s going to be a positive influence on the neighborhood,” Fraser said.
“The neighbors are happy it’s not going to be an eyesore anymore and it should bring some money back into the community and eradicate sort of a safety hazard,” she said.
It was also the site of a previous failed redevelopment attempt. The former Heege School, a three-story, 35,700- square-foot building, sat at the corner until the 1970s when the Affton School District closed and sold it to the Elks Club. The Elks left the building in October 2002 and built a new 12,500 square-foot building on the western edge of the same property.
