STL airport buyout in Bridgeton could be developed

BRIDGETON, Mo. - The St. Louis Airport Authority has issued a request for proposals to develop approximately 315 acres where a thriving Bridgeton community once existed. 

The controversial buyout in the 1990s made room for a third runway but resulted in approximately 2000 residential and commercial properties being bought out. 

“It was a disaster,” Allan Middleton said. He's a current Bridgeton resident who saw family and friends lose their community. "I drive by the old neighborhood, and all the houses are gone."

What appears to have been a part of the subdivision’s old pool complex still stands, covered in graffiti.

“It’s just like, you know, a horror film,” Middleton said.

“You just lost that sense of community you had when it was Carrolton,” Heidi Perkins added, a former resident of the area and current manager of Branneky Hardware.

The hardware store is a staple in Bridgeton. Fourth-generation owner Tim Branneky said the buyout also had an effect on nearby businesses.

“We saw our customer count drop daily from anywhere from 100 to 150 people, which for a small business is a big chunk of customers,” he said.

He and Perkins are optimistic a new development can help a community once devastated by the buyout.

“I hated that it was lost, but I think that something can be brought back from this news,” Perkins said.

Branneky added the buyout took an incalculable toll as well. 

“A lot of good people, friends that you’ve had for lifetime, are gone,” she said.

Aviation regulations will not allow for homes to be built in the buyout area, but light industrial businesses are a possibility.

A spokesperson for St. Louis Lambert International Airport released the following statement:

"The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, Section 163, limited the FAA’s authority to regulate the use of non-aeronautical property in certain cases, increasing the latitude for development. West Carrollton falls into this category. Since commercial airports, such as STL, have an obligation to be financially self-sustaining, development of airport-owned properties is encouraged. We have also received inquiries regarding this specific parcel and feel that now is the right time to address the property’s potential.

"STL anticipates that anyone redeveloping the West Carrollton parcel would seek a potential project that works in conjunction with the Bridgeton property. The RFP is written with instructions on who to contact in Bridgeton for further details.

"STL hopes that this project helps the tax base of Bridgeton and creates good local jobs for the immediate area."