Officials mull new use for Fenton Chrysler plant
Suburban Journals
February 23, 2010
by Jim Merkel
Major stores, restaurants, entertainment outlets, business parks and industry are among the suggestions being offered for the land formerly occupied by the shuttered Chrysler plant in Fenton.
The ideas are being raised now that the St. Louis County Economic Council has $2 million to study uses for the land and then market the property.
The U.S. Department of Commerce last week announced it was giving a $1.56 million grant to help find a new use for the 280 acres of the former plant on the north side of Interstate 44 in Fenton. The state is adding $262,000, St. Louis County, $131,000 and Fenton, $131,000, bringing the total to $2,084,000.
The economic council now will do an environmental impact study on the property and other studies on what could go there.
The environmental impact study is needed to let any potential buyer know what is on the property, Fenton Mayor Dennis Hancock said.
A traffic flow study also is needed, he said.
Possible uses could be biotech or life sciences, David Leezer, a vice president of the St. Louis County Economic Council, said.
"We want to move very quickly on it," Leezer said. "In terms of how many jobs we create after that, it's hard to say," he said.
At the high point, about 6,000 people worked at the plant.
