Airport to ink deal to build at least $40 million in cargo facilities
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
December 1, 2009
by Tim Logan
St. Louis airport officials are preparing to sign a deal to redevelop 76 acres on the north side of Lambert St. Louis International Airport's runways into air cargo offloading facilities.
The Airport Commission tomorrow will consider a development agreement with AeroTerm, LLC, a Maryland-based company that has built cargo centers across North America, to demolish or rehab unused Boeing hangars on the north side of the airport and build new cargo facilities there.
The project has been on Lambert's plate for some time. It began seeking developers for the site in 2005, and AeroTerm was the sole company to submit a proposal. Once an agreement is signed, they will have two years to start construction, and then hold a 10-year lease. Under the agreement to be considered Wednesday, AeroTerm would pay the Airport $1.5 million, and must invest at least $40 million in the site.
The spot is a key piece of Lambert's hopes to lure Chinese air freight carriers. It is included in the airport's newly-expanded Foreign Trade Zone and would be a likely spot for loading and unloading air spot. In this year's state budget, Missouri lawmakers included $10 million to build a cargo hangar there, but Gov. Jay Nixon has frozen the money until there is more certainty about the Chinese efforts.
