a:25:{s:9:"weblog_id";s:1:"4";s:8:"entry_id";s:0:"";s:6:"sticky";s:0:"";s:14:"allow_comments";s:1:"n";s:16:"allow_trackbacks";s:1:"n";s:10:"entry_date";s:19:"2008-12-13 09:17 PM";s:15:"expiration_date";s:0:"";s:23:"comment_expiration_date";s:0:"";s:8:"category";a:1:{i:0;s:1:"4";}s:9:"author_id";s:1:"2";s:6:"status";s:4:"open";s:14:"trackback_urls";s:0:"";s:18:"versioning_enabled";s:1:"y";s:5:"title";s:63:"Air Products to Put Facility at Fountain Lakes Commerce Center ";s:9:"url_title";s:62:"air_products_to_put_facility_at_fountain_lakes_commerce_center";s:6:"submit";s:6:"Submit";s:11:"field_id_26";s:62:"Air Products to Put Facility at Fountain Lakes Commerce Center";s:11:"field_ft_26";s:4:"none";s:11:"field_id_31";s:0:"";s:11:"field_id_44";s:301:"Following a region-wide competition, Air Products has selected Fountain Lakes Commerce Center at I-370 and Elm Street in St. Charles, MO, as the site for a new 269,837-square-foot production facility. The 475-acre Fountain Lakes Commerce Center project is owned and developed by The Millstone Company.";s:11:"field_ft_44";s:4:"none";s:11:"field_id_28";s:28:"Air Products, Fountain Lakes";s:11:"field_ft_28";s:4:"none";s:11:"field_id_29";s:2476:"<p>Following a region-wide competition, Air Products has selected Fountain Lakes Commerce Center at I-370 and Elm Street in St. Charles, MO, as the site for a new 269,837-square-foot production facility. The 475-acre Fountain Lakes Commerce Center project is owned and developed by The Millstone Company. <br /><br />The new facility, which has a projected completion value of $54 million, will enable Air Products to increase output of its sophisticated membrane products by more than 50 percent and is being built by Korte Construction in two phases on a 12-acre site. Phase I will consist of a 98,047-square-foot building that will be completed by mid-2009. Phase II, a 171,790-square-foot facility, is slated to open in early 2010. <br /><br />Geoff Orf and Kevin Gallagher with Gateway Commercial/Cushman Wakefield represented Millstone in the transaction. Tom Erman and Kevin McKeon with NAI DESCO represented Air Products.<br /><br />Gallagher said Air Products looked at multiple sites in St. Charles and St. Louis counties before choosing Fountain Lakes. <br /><br />&ldquo;The fact that Fountain Lakes Commerce Center and the roads leading to it rest on ground that is above the 500-year flood plain was a key factor in the decision of Air Products to invest here,&rdquo; said Paul Chesterton, director of real estate development for Millstone. &ldquo;St. Louis experienced two floods in 2008 and the development stayed dry through both without needing a levee to protect it.&rdquo; <br /><br />&ldquo;The comparatively low tax rate in the City of St. Charles plus the willingness of the city to expedite the approval process &ndash; it was shortened by four months &ndash; were other important factors,&rdquo; he added. <br /><br />Air Products currently operates a membrane production facility that employs more than 100 people at 11444 Lackland Ave. in St. Louis County. Open since 1984, the company has expanded the plant several times, most recently by 25,000 square feet in 2007. The Lackland plant will continue to operate after the Fountain Lakes plant opens. <br /><br />&ldquo;Locating near our existing facility will allow us to leverage our skilled workforce and know-how to bring the facility into full production more quickly and efficiently,&rdquo; said George Lewis, global business manager, equipment sales at Air Products. &ldquo;This new facility will ensure our ability to meet strong demand for high performance membranes.&rdquo;<br /><br /></p>";s:10:"category_0";s:1:"4";}