最新杏吧原创

Now, 最新杏吧原创 Lambert International Airport is looking to redevelop a large swath of the former neighborhood. The airport is soliciting formal proposals to turn a vacant 315-acre site near Interstate 270, known as West Carrollton, for industrial or commercial projects. Officials want to take advantage of the area鈥檚 proximity to the airport, highways and the Norfolk Southern rail line to draw businesses that could bring new jobs 鈥� and revenue 鈥� to Lambert and the city of Bridgeton.

Federal aviation regulations prohibit the land from being used for residences. But airport officials say they are allowed to negotiate a long-term lease with developers for projects like warehousing, cargo handling, manufacturing or a 鈥渓imited aeronautical use鈥� supporting airport operations.

鈥淚t鈥檚 unfortunate that everything happened, and it never should have happened the way it did,鈥� said Desy Schoenewies, who grew up in what was West Carrollton and maintains a website dedicated to its history. 鈥淏ut as long as it is of benefit to the community of 最新杏吧原创, it would be nice to see, finally, something good come out of this.鈥�

The potential development would be the largest project in Bridgeton, a city of about 11,300 residents, and the latest addition to a large industrial and manufacturing corridor in northwest 最新杏吧原创 County. Bridgeton also owns roughly 47 acres around the Lambert site that could be a part of any new project, city Administrator Kevin Bookout said in an interview.

The airport has issued a formal request for proposals due by Jan. 31, anticipating construction as early as 2027.

鈥淪TL (the airport) hopes that this project helps the tax base of Bridgeton and creates good local jobs for the immediate area,鈥� said Jerry Beckmann, airport deputy director of planning and development, in a written statement.

鈥楴ot our land anymore鈥�

In the 1990s and 2000s, Lambert bought out West Carrollton and elsewhere in Bridgeton, plus homes in Berkeley and Kinloch, in a $2.6 billion project to build a third runway and create a noise buffer around it. At the time, Lambert was TWA鈥檚 primary hub, and officials projected flight traffic would increase.

But the move was bitterly opposed by Bridgeton, whose residents organized to sue 最新杏吧原创 and Lambert, which it owns and operates. Opponents attacked the proposed airport expansion with a blitz of radio ads and followed then-最新杏吧原创 Mayor Vincent Schoemehl Jr. with picket signs while he ran for governor.

Ultimately, more than 2,000 homes, plus dozens of businesses, several schools, churches and parks were displaced 鈥� and Bridgeton鈥檚 population plummeted by more than 4,000 people. The new billion-dollar runway opened in 2006 but saw far less traffic than predicted after the airline industry tanked, and American Airlines, which had bought TWA, closed its Lambert hub.

Schoenewies grew upon Brumley Drive in West Carrollton until she left for college. She said the neighborhood was tight-knit and remembers riding her bike, playing with the neighborhood kids and walking to stores and parks. Many kids鈥� parents worked for McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing), and TWA (now American Airlines) or for Lambert.

鈥淚t was a quintessential American neighborhood,鈥� said Schoenewies. She runs 56 Houses Left, a website devoted to the neighborhood, and is writing a book about the neighborhood鈥檚 displacement.

Her mother stayed in West Carrollton until 2006, when she was among the last residents to get a buyout offer. Many residents felt they didn鈥檛 get a fair price for their homes, and the buyout process was 鈥済ut wrenching,鈥� Schoenewies said.

Now, the vacant streets are a 鈥渃reepy鈥� reminder of the history, she said. Many former West Carrollton residents have moved on, Schoenewies said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not our land to say what happens to it anymore,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to see 最新杏吧原创 do something with that space.鈥�

鈥楴othing to sneeze at鈥�

Beckmann, the airport planning deputy director, said redevelopment of West Carrollton became possible after the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 limited the agency鈥檚 authority to regulate the use of non-aeronautical property, 鈥渋ncreasing the latitude for development.鈥� The airport had also fielded inquiries about the site, Beckmann said.

Bridgeton owns vacant land across three sites bordering the Lambert property, including 10 acres along 270 that once housed the Carrollton neighborhood public pool and clubhouse and roughly 33 acres that were once O鈥機onner Park. The city is willing to lease or sell land to support redevelopment and hopes the airport will include hotels or restaurants along Interstate 270, Bookout said.

The site鈥檚 location, its access to air, highway and rail transport, and the region鈥檚 industrial base could give the airport a major advantage in drawing potential developers, said Mike Boyd, a Denver-based aviation consultant with Boyd Group International. That could include companies that build airplane parts or provide other services to the aeronautical industry, he said.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 realize the number of subcontractors out there making components, overhead bins, seats, latches, things like that,鈥� he said. 鈥�315 acres is not exactly anything to sneeze at, and the airport is doing the right thing trying to do something with it.鈥�