By Tom Weber, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – There will be a groundbreaking ceremony this (Monday) morning to mark the start of construction on what's being billed as St. Louis County's largest redevelopment project ever. In all, 550 acres of land near Lambert Airport rebuilt for commercial and light industry use.
Much of the land in the towns of Kinloch, Ferguson, and Berkeley used to be homes that were bought out for airport noise abatement.
Estimates say as many as 12,000 jobs could be created from the businesses that located there.
Dick Fleming with the Regional Chamber and Growth Association admits that's not a guarantee but he says the land is attractive for business: "Time is money and being able to be literally adjacent to the airport, while it wasn't desirable for housing for people who had their homes bought as part of the noise abatement, it becomes very attractive for commercial use for that very same proximity."
The partnership that will develop the land includes two companies, McEagle Properties and Clayco Corporation.