Following months of preparation, a joint venture of St. Louis-based Paric and Southfield, Michigan-based Barton Malow started work on a $1.8 billion development at the St. Louis Lambert International Airport on behalf of aerospace giant Boeing, according to local media reports.
The project is divided into two phases. The first includes an expansion of the company’s production site near the airport to the tune of 880,000 square feet, along with a 185,000-square-foot hangar building and an 80,000-square-foot radar cross section test facility, according to the airport.
The second part, which includes a 660,000-square-foot assembly building, a 200,000-square-foot paint hangar and a 150,000-square-foot hangar addition, is contingent on future military contracts, according to the St. Louis Business Journal.
Paric and Barton Malow won the project in October 2023, according to a press release from the St. Louis builder. Work began in Q1 2024, and Boeing anticipates that construction on the assembly building will finish sometime in 2026, the Journal reported. Paric expects to employ 1,200 craft workers throughout its lifecycle.
While the expansion is good news for Boeing, the company has faced intense public scrutiny after a door plug blew out midair on an Alaska Airlines 737-9 Max plane in January. What’s followed since has been increased government oversight, backlash and revealing audits about the company’s manufacturing practices. The company also announced a $355 million revenue loss for the first quarter of 2024 on its earnings call Wednesday, ABC News reported.
That scrutiny has come largely in the firm’s commercial aircraft division. The St. Louis facility is expected to be an assembly site for military aircraft, according to the Journal.