With a quick snip and echoes of applause, the Grove Ronald McDonald house on Chouteau Avenue officially opened Tuesday morning.

The new facility replaces two retired locations, Park Avenue and West Pine. Previously, Ronald McDonald House had 59 bedrooms locally between three locations. The new 72-bedroom location on Choutea Avenue raises the number of total bedrooms in the area to 92. The other 20 rooms are in the West County house in Creve Coeur.

"Up until today we’ve had more than 30 families on the wait list, every day," said Chair Bridget Hoy Beardsley. "Today, when we open this house, we are hoping to eliminate that wait list.”

Those temporarily residing at the $34 million dollar facility will enjoy the multiple features including chef prepared meals in the state-of-the-art kitchen, a wellness center with both yoga and workout equipment, an indoor playroom, video games in the St. Louis Blues game room, and a comfortable seating area to watch a baseball game in the St. Louis Cardinals family room.

The new location is equidistant from both SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

"This is the most unbelievable organization in the world,” said Ronald McDonald President Dan Harbaugh. He continued to thank all of those that were involved in the build from conception to fundraising to the constructing and furninshing the building that stood behind them.

Ronald McDonald house supports families with seriously ill children providing a “home away from home” while their child seeks treatment. They first opened in St. Louis in 1981 with an eight bedroom house on West Pine.

If you need to reach the Ronald McDonald house  click here.