Wildwood is tired of watching another medical office open where a restaurant could be. The city is now drafting a formal document to tell developers and brokers exactly what it wants — and what it's most likely to approve.

The Economic Development Committee took up the proposal at its March 24 meeting: a one-page "Target Business Profile" that would spell out preferred business categories, site requirements, and compatibility standards, then put that guidance directly in the hands of the real estate community.

The push is a direct response to a pattern the city's own Department of Planning and Parks acknowledged in its March 24 staff report. Recent commercial growth has leaned heavily on medical offices, professional services, and the reopening of existing restaurant spaces. Those uses, the report noted, "are appropriate and contribute to the tax base" — but "do not fully address the gaps identified through community input." The city said it has received "consistent feedback from both residents and the business community" calling for more dining, retail, entertainment, and outdoor-oriented businesses.

Once finalized, the profile would be distributed to brokers, developers, and prospective tenants as a clear signal of where Council support is most likely. The city was careful to note the document "is not intended to guarantee that any specific business will locate in the City" — a meaningful qualifier in a community that has spent three decades managing the tension between commercial growth and the rural character it incorporated in 1995 specifically to protect.

The March 24 agenda also offered a snapshot of what is and isn't opening in Wildwood right now. On the current-baseline side: Heartwood Quantum Energy Healing held a ribbon-cutting on March 12 at its location on State Route 109, with Mayor Garritano and Council Member Ottenberg on hand for the ceremony hosted by the West St. Louis County Chamber of Commerce.

On the potential-anchor side: the committee opened an exploratory discussion about whether the Space Museum and Grissom Center — which holds Apollo and Gemini mission artifacts valued at approximately $42 million — might relocate to Wildwood. The museum's board has identified a need for a 50,000-square-foot permanent facility estimated at $21 million, and its current lease is nearing expiration. Mayor Garritano, Council Member Ottenberg, and City Administrator Thomas Lee visited the museum on March 12 as part of an informational tour.

No vote on the Target Business Profile was taken at the March 24 session. The EDC's next meeting is Monday, April 20, 2026.