When Walmart Stores Inc. began building in Earth City this spring, the wheat had to be harvested early on the company's 10-acre lot. The farmer was left with straw, but Ford Motor Credit Co. was happy.

Each acre Ford sells in its 1,175- acre office and industrial park puts it another step closer to getting out of a $35 million hole. To cut maintenance costs, Ford has contracted with a farmer to grow corn and wheat on the vacant lots.

And there is still plenty of vacant land, although sales have picked up in the last year. Since Earth City was launched in 1970 with much fanfare and grand plans, 318 of its 950 developable acres have been sold. 128 of those acres were sold in the last five years.

John Basilico, Ford's local manager, says it will be another four or five years before the giant credit company recoups its investment. But Basilico is a patient man. In a recent interview, he said it would be take 10 to 12 years more to fully develop the park.

United Parcel Service owns the largest single chunk of Earth City with 34 acres. The Prudential Life Insurance Company of America is probably the largest single building owner with four warehouses and an office building, all leased to others.

Companies that have leased space include McDonnell Douglas Corp., ACF Industries, Schnuck Markets, Boise Cascade Corp., Raychem Corp. and Anheuser Busch. In all, the park has 2.7 million square feet in buildings.

So far this year, Ford has sold 16 acres, including the 10-acre Walmart site, and has another 16 acres under contract and ready for closing. More than 160 businesses operate in the park with about 4,000 employees.

Ford never intended to be the developer of Earth City. It started out as the lender. But the company ended up with the project in 1977 after two developers failed to make a go of it.

Earth City was the brainchild of Linclay Corp., headed by J. Dale Perkinson. Original plans called for a mini-city to rise out of what had been prime farmland abutting the Missouri River in north St. Louis County. There would be jobs, stores, housing, lakes, bike trails, swimming pool, golf course and riding stables.

In 1974 Linclay backed out of Earth City, victim of a variety of problems. Suits brought by environmentalists slowed land development, the recession was starting up and development at Westport was attracting potential customers. The next developer was Crow-St. Louis Industrial Inc., a partnership headed by developer Trammell Crow of Dallas. Crow -- hit hard by the recession -- lasted three years. Ford took over the project in a friendly foreclosure suit in June 1977. Both Linclay and Crow still own land and buildings in the park.

Today, Earth City is strictly offices and warehouses with one hotel, the Harley, which stands near the entrance from Interstate 70. The park is bounded on the south by Interstate 70, on the north by St. Charles Rock Road, on the east by Bridgeton and on the west by the Missouri River.

The 293 acres that were zoned for multi-family housing were re-zoned in 1981 for commercial and industrial use. Those acres lie east of the Earth City Expressway and are now planted with corn.

Yet for years, developers have shied away from Earth City, afraid that their investments would not appreciate the way they have in Westport and along Highway 40 and Interstate 270. The lack of restaurants and retail shops also has hurt the location, although the proposed $500 million Riverport development should solve that problem.

'It's in the right location yet it isn't, ' says Ronald H. Silverman, executive vice president of Turco Development Co. 'Earth City will move into its own as the Westport area becomes saturated.'

Silverman said Earth City had been hurt by the early suits, the foreclosures and the accompanying publicity. 'The problem, a lot of it, is perception. Some people think, 'I don't want to get involved out there, it's a problem.' They really do get a bad rap.'

Vernon Martens, who specializes in industrial sales for Coldwell Banker, says that Earth City was way ahead of its time when planned by Linclay -- an assessment shared by Basilico.

'I think Earth City is just coming into its own now, ' says Martens. 'It was conceived at the same time Westport was taking off, and at that time Westport was more attractive. It was closer in, land was available and easy to develop, and there were restaurants and shops at Westport Plaza.'

So after 14 years, Earth City may just be on the verge of coming into its own. And as Basilico notes, there is only so much land left along 40 and 270. Eventually the choices will narrow.