For the last four years, many people got to know Ballpark Village as a place to grab a beer and a bite before or after a ballgame at Busch Stadium.

But the downtown entertainment venue, jointly developed by the St. Louis Cardinals and The Cordish Cos., will offer St. Louis much more in the future.

Construction on Ballpark Village’s second phase, adding office, residential and retail spaces, officially kicked off on Thursday.

With plans for a 297-unit apartment building, a 216-room hotel and the first new office building built downtown in 30 years, Blake Cordish promised the next phase would transform Ballpark Village from an entertainment district “into a dynamic, vibrant, 24/7 neighborhood.”

The Cordish Cos. vice president joined Cardinals owners and city dignitaries to pose with ceremonial shovels in the Ballpark Village parking lot that will be busy with construction crews and equipment for the next two-and-a-half years. Already, a crane is in use and construction professionals were getting to work.

“The impact of the St. Louis Cardinals on our city is so significant, not only from an economic standpoint, but from a cultural standpoint,” St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson told those gathered in the Fox Sports Midwest Live! Ballpark Village venue.