Business & Tech
County-Owned Airport Adding a Hangar After Chesterfield OK
Spirit of St. Louis is said to generate $400 million in business for the local area.
in is looking to add a combined 9,534-square-foot aircraft hangar and office space on a 1.7 acre of land.
Officials representing the St. Louis County-owned airport appeared before Chesterfield's Planning Commission Monday.
The gray sheet metal hangar would be 24 feet high and hold just two aircraft, officials told Patch.
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A red band on an overhang would mark the office entrance. A side of the proposed hangar is along the north side of Edison Avenue.
The city's voted 9-0 approval for the hangar.
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The addition would be at 650 North Bell Avenue, adjacent to the existing airport. It is a zone of so-called planned industrial districts.
The nearly 50-year-old executive airport has a 7,485-foot runway and a 5,000-foot parallel runway. Newer, larger or faster aircraft typically require longer runways for safe takeoff and landing.
The Spirit of St. Louis Airport was under 10-12 feet of water during July 1993 flooding from the nearby Missouri River. All but one flyable plane was evacuated after the Monarch levee broke and water rolled toward the air field.
A McDonnell-Douglas aerospace engineer Paul D. Haglin, made it his goal in the late 1950s to open an airport for private aircraft in the region. He partnered with an attorney to buy $7.9 million worth of farmland in what was then called Gumbo.
By 1964, he opened Spirit of St. Louis Airpark after buying about half the property and leasing the other half for 98-years. It was considered visionary that Haglin bought surrounding property to allow for industrial development near the airport.
Ralston-Purina was the first corporate customer to base their fleet there, according to the website.
The airport website claims the airport generates $400 million worth of business in the local economy, but no dates or other specifics were provided.
It was unclear what the budget was for the facility or how much it would cost to build the new hangar.
St. Louis County said the airport is self-supporting by selling airplane fuel and renting property.
The historical information is from the airport's website.
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