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Democracy on the Front Lines
City Administrator’s Blog
Walter Denton
August 20, 2010
Boeing’s announcement to locate a manufacturing facility at Mid America Airport is exciting news for the City of O’Fallon. The initial creation of 75 jobs at the existing cargo facility will have minimal impact on O’Fallon, but the potential is enormous.
On its face, 75 jobs at the airport are not really that exciting. Certainly, 75 jobs are better than none, but 75 jobs are not why 500 people attended the press conference including Gov. Pat Quinn, US Sen. Dick Durbin, and US Reps. Jerry Costello and John Shimkus. Boeing did not publicly promise anything more than 75 jobs, but these officials surely believe (know?) more is coming.
In addition to the possibility of O’Fallon residents working at the new Boeing facility, the good news for us is the prospect of locating companies in O’Fallon that do business with Boeing. Similar to the many military contractors located in O’Fallon that do business with Scott Air Force Base, a large multi-national company like Boeing has many vendors with which it does business. These vendors will need office space, its workers will need homes, and they will have to purchase goods and services.
O’Fallon is perfectly poised to accommodate these vendors. The City Council just approved the Rasp Farm TIF office park that could quickly provide office space. In addition, the City has long-term
plans for 1,200 acres just north of the airport between Rte. 158 and Rieder Road. We believe the area will be in the city limits one day, and it is ideally suited for offices, warehousing, distribution, and light assembly.
Boeing could be the engine for considerable economic growth if the company decides to invest heavily in Mid America Airport. There are 75 jobs now, but we have great expectations.
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