For nearly 60 years, the Ford Motor Co. plant in Hazelwood, Mo., stood as a symbol of the St. Louis area’s strength in auto manufacturing. Today, the shuttered plant is a symbol of an effective public-private partnership to transform a dormant property into an economic asset again.
Two years after the plant closed in 2006, Ford sold the site to Sacramento, Calif.-based Panattoni Development Co. The city of Hazelwood, meanwhile, took proactive measures to support a redevelopment vision.