Families along Highway 61 are in for a shorter drive to specialty pediatric care. Wentzville officials quietly dropped a big hint on Thursday, revealing that the northwest corner of Highway 61 and Wentzville Parkway is slated to become home to a new St. Louis Children's specialty care center. The city said there is no firm opening date yet and promised more details in a follow-up post. The tease comes after months of planning and municipal review for the site, and for parents who routinely trek into St. Louis for pediatric subspecialty visits, the new project could cut down on road time and speed access to imaging and same-day services.
What the city posted
On June 18 the City of Wentzville told residents, "We've received many questions about this new development!" and promised that more information is on the way, according to City of Wentzville. The post confirmed the project is focused on the Highway 61 and Wentzville Parkway corner and reiterated that no opening date has been set. City staff also kept construction schedules close to the vest, offering no build-out timelines in the social media update.
Proposal details from city documents
City planning materials and local reporting indicate that BJC HealthCare is behind a proposal for a three-story, roughly 134,000-square-foot outpatient pediatric specialty center at the northwest corner of Wentzville Parkway and Highway 61, bringing together same-day surgery, advanced imaging and a "young athlete center," according to reporting by Yahoo. Presentations to aldermen describe the facility as being staffed by St. Louis Children's Hospital and Washington University physicians offering multiple subspecialties on-site. Planning staff also cited a memorandum of understanding that commits the applicant to a fair-share contribution toward Wentzville Parkway improvements, a figure described in staff materials as "in excess of $600,000."
What it means for families
Shifting a St. Louis Children's Specialty Care Center farther west would give families in and around Wentzville easier access to pediatric subspecialists without the full drive into the main hospital campus, according to St. Louis Children's Hospital. The system already operates specialty care centers in West County and South County that provide imaging, labs and outpatient procedures, and a Wentzville site would extend that network into the region's fast-growing outer edge. Local parents and youth sports programs may see particular benefits from the planned "young athlete" services, which group prevention, rehabilitation and sports medicine supports in one place.
Next steps and timeline
Rezoning and final site-plan review still have to move through the city's planned development commercial (PDC) process, and the city has said it will share more about timing in a future update, according to the Facebook post. Residents can track board packets and meeting schedules on the city's website as the project works its way through public hearings and engineering reviews, according to City of Wentzville. Developers and city staff still need to settle on a construction timetable and, eventually, an official opening date.
