County, Chrysler sorting out Fenton plant demolition
By Tim Logan | Posted: Tuesday, August 3, 2010 12:30 pm |
5 Million square feet for sale at former Chrysler Plant in Fenton MARCH 17 2010 - The sign posted on the side of the former Chrysler plant in Fenton boasts 5 million square feet for sale.
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Fenton - What's left here of Chrysler kicked up some dirt last week when it moved ahead quickly with plans to demolish its now-abandoned South Assembly Plant in Fenton.Too quickly for County health inspectors.
Now those inspectors are telling the automaker's bankruptcy court subsidiary to cool its heels and take a full measure of the environmental impact of that demolition.
The County Health Department Monday formally denied a request to tear down the 2.6 million square foot South plant, saying the site must first undergo a "thorough asbestos abatement inspection." The County gave contractors hired for the job until Aug 9 to submit new plans for the teardown.
"We're working with them now," said Health Department spokesman Craig Lefebvre on Monday afternoon.
An official with Capstone Advisory Group, the restructuring firm that's managing Chrysler's bankrupt assets - including the Fenton plant - declined to comment.
Either way, it appears the half-century-old South Plant's days are numbered.
"Our interest is not in stopping the project," Lefebvre said. "Our interest is in making sure it follows local, state and federal law."
When the site first went on the market this spring, both the South and North plants were being offered intact. A sign out frong offered 5 million square feet of industrial space for sale.
At some point since, Capstone made a decision to demolish the older South Plant. Denny Coleman, executive director of the St. Louis County Economic Council, said he first heard of that plan about a month ago, in a meeting with Capstone. They want to knock down the South plant and sell its metal to fund heating and maintenance on the newer North plant.
"Our understanding is that they wanted to use the scrap value of the property, which they believe will net them some money, to help carry the property through next winter," Coleman said. "They evidently have some pretty high carrying costs on the north building to keep the sprinkler system heated through winter so it doesn't freeze."
Both Coleman and Fenton Mayor Dennis Hancock said they understand that Capstone has some potential buyers who are interested in the plant. Hancock suggested that the demolition may be part of preparations to sell it to someone.
"We fully expect there's going to be a new owner sooner rather than later," he said.
Hancock said Capstone's contractors secured all the necessary permits from Fenton, but the County Health Department also has a say, and it wasn't quite satisfied.
Asbestos crews apparently planned to clean the building in sections, knocking down each after they'd moved on to the next one. Last week, they started ripping out side walls to open the factory to more light so they could see better. The County Health Department told them that was a violation.
Health Department officials said they would rather crews know where all the asbestos is located before demolition begins. The company has identified some area that certainly contain certain pollutants but has not yet done a complete study of the building, Lefebvre said.
"You need to fully identify a site for asbestos before you work on it," he said. "Otherwise there's no way to know where else there might be asbestos."
