Household products warehouse may be built at controversial St. Peters site
JANUARY 13, 2016 7:30 AM

ST. PETERS • City officials say a British-based household products company is likely to put up a 714,780-square-foot warehouse in the city's long-struggling, levee-protected Premier 370 business park in the Mississippi River flood plain.

"That's my expectation," City Administrator Bill Charnisky said Tuesday. But he said the final signed agreements have yet to be submitted by the company — RB, formerly known as Reckitt-Benckiser.

He said the new warehouse would bring with it about 300 new jobs. The same company also has tentative plans to expand its existing manufacturing plant in another part of St. Peters, adding jobs there as well.

RB, if it goes ahead with the $31.5-million warehouse, would be just the second major company to locate in Premier 370. It would join a Dayton Freight truck terminal which opened in 2011.

RB at its existing St. Peters plant makes products such as Lysol and Lysol wipes, Woolite and Resolve stain remover, said plant manager Ryan Richter. Richter said tentative plans are to produce additional products there. That expansion would cost $25.5 million, according to city documents.

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Response to this is that I'd almost always prefer jobs coming into the city first, but this region has taken a hit on jobs all over lately, and bringing any back to the region is a good thing.

It sucks that we have to be happy about new development in an exurban flood plain.

^We don't.

It's a company with a factory in St. Peters, why would they put their warehouse in the city?

also, do we really want a giant warehouse built in the city? it's less urban than a strip mall. i envision blocks and blocks of windowless street frontage.

^Yes, we do. The is plenty of abandoned and dilapidated industrial space along the north and south riverfront that could host a large scale warehouse, while benefitting the city and not detracting from its built environment. For instance, I'm sure Green Street would love to have a 700,000 sq.ft., 300 employee tenant of their Carondelet Coke Plant industrial development. Although industrial development is generally not "urban" it can still contribute to the City's tax and employment base without detracting from its residential or commercial areas.