× Expand PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF KHAZAR2COMMONS, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Crestwood Plaza is now in its final weeks after nearly six decades.

The Crestwood City Council recently approved $25 million in Tax Increment Financing and a 2 percent sales tax for a redevelopment plan. The site's owner, Urban Street Group of Chicago, bought the property during an auction in 2014. It will now begin construction of a development that includes retail, entertainment, dining, office space, and housing. It's putting about $79 million into the project, which is slated to open in approximately three years.

After sitting vacant for almost three years, the existing mall will need to be torn down. First, though, residents can say goodbye on Saturday, April 16, from 11 a.m. to dusk. The Food Truck Party at the Plaza will include more than 40 mobile eateries, two beer trucks, live entertainment featuring Joe Dirt and the Dirty Boys Band, and a kid’s court. The event is sponsored by the City of Crestwood and the St. Louis Food Truck Association.

The building first opened as an open-air mall in 1957. It was then enclosed and renamed Crestwood Plaza in 1984. It was later called Westfield Shoppingtown Crestwood and Crestwood Court. Its last use was as a “lifestyle center” with spaces for artists and galleries. In its heyday, the mall had 90 retail outlets, four anchor stores, movie theaters, and a vibrant food court. But its decline began in the late 1990s and didn't stop until it finally closed.