By Paul Morello

ST. LOUIS - Work on the ballpark village development surrounding Busch Stadium is finally underway.

Cardinals officials broke ground on the complex Friday morning. The 10-acre development will include 100,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space and will also be the home of the Cardinals Hall of Fame.

"Ballpark Village will be a gold standard development in keeping with one of the great sports franchises and great fan bases in the world," Blake Cordish, Vice President of Development for Cordish Companies said in a release on Friday.

The first phase is expected to cost $100 million and is slated to open by Opening Day 2014.

Paul Morello can be reached at paul@wjbc.com.