Car czar visit to Chrysler plant in Fenton brings $1.6M
St. Louis Business Journal
February 18, 2010
by Lisa R. Brown
Ed Montgomery, President Barack Obama's director of recovery for auto communities and workers, visited the shuttered Chrysler plant in Fenton on Thursday to announce up to $1.6 million in federal funding for an environmental study to kick-start the re-use of the facility.
The money from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration will go to the St. Louis County Economic Council, the Missouri Department of Economic Development and the City of Fenton.
The market analysis will cost $2.1 million, and St. Louis County and Fenton officials are splitting the remaining $500,000 cost.
In an interview with the Business Journal, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley said the grant is a step in getting the property back into productive use.
"I believe it's a great location, and there's great infrastructure in place there," he said.
Dooley said he isn't ruling out the possibility that the plant may attract another car manufacturer. "We believe the new Chrysler is looking for places for new automobiles," he said. "We have a skilled work force here. Anything is possible, but it won't be possible until we position ourselves properly. I think if we do these things, we're letting people know that we're not giving up. We have to compete."
Dooley said the county is in discussions with state authorities about what incentives may be available for new users on the site.
U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., also applauded the awarding of the grant.
"This federal funding is a step in the right direction toward bringing large-scale manufacturing back to the area and providing a path to new job opportunities for the many skilled workers in this community who have suffered with the closing of the Chrysler facilities," she said in a statement. "I'm hopeful these grant dollars will help the community negotiate and plan out the next steps toward finding a new usage for the Chrysler plant."
Old Carco, formerly known as Chrysler LLC, hired Clayton, Mo.-based NAI Desco to market the 5-million-square-foot property. Prospective buyers have been taking golf cart tours of the sprawling complex.
Employees at the North assembly plant assembled Dodge Ram pickup trucks until it closed in July 2009. Chrysler's South plant, which made minivans, closed in October 2008.
