If Ford plant in St. Paul closes in 2011, what could take the place of it. (condos, townhomes)

[pirate_lafitte]

There has been some instability with Ford Motors and in St. Paul there has been some uncertainty last year. Now that the Ford plant is to remain open until 2011, what new factory do you think could and should take the place of Ford? I ask because if a new factory takes that place, new jobs can be there so people can keep working.

[Slig]

Very few companies would need that large of a facility. I would think another auto maker would move in, if anything.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by Slig

Very few companies would need that large of a facility. I would think another auto maker would move in, if anything.

Sounds good. How would Toyota sound?

[Slig]

I'd be cool with that. As long as they make better cars than my 2000 Toyota Corolla which crapped out at 94,000 miles...it was a total lemon.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by Slig

I'd be cool with that. As long as they make better cars than my 2000 Toyota Corolla which crapped out at 94,000 miles...it was a total lemon.

The 1988 Toyota Tercel is even worse. I should know. My mother had one. It kept having problems and after a while it sat in our garage idle for years until we had it towed away.

I was thinking the Toyota Highlander Hybrid could be built in St. Paul.

[Oildog]

Great place for riverfront townhomes and the new Saints stadium.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by Oildog

Great place for riverfront townhomes and the new Saints stadium.

No new factory to replace the jobs that will soon be lost? How sad.

[Globe199]

Originally Posted by Oildog

Great place for riverfront townhomes and the new Saints stadium.

I hate to be a buzzkill, but none of this will ever happen. Townhomes were vastly overbuilt and the Saints have no money for a stadium.

I think the Ford area will sit dormant for years. I can't imagine any other carmaker moving in. First off, one of the reasons most car factories are in rural areas is because the prevailing wages are lower there. Second, it would probably be cheaper and easier for someone like Toyota to build a new plant in BuFu-Kansas or wherever than to try and retrofit the Ford plant.

If anything, Ford themselves should retool the plant to make hybrid vehicles. But again, they'd probably rather just shut it down.

[pirate_lafitte]

Maybe they could built the Ford Escape Hybrid in St. Paul.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Ford should have made its most popular hybrid model there and used the PR of building a hybrid using hydroelectric power in an urban setting to sell it. However, Ford hasn't made a good decision in decades. Now the dam power is sold off to the power grid.
The Saints have a good chunk of money, so at least some of the land should be put in reserve. That would be an ideal place for a stadium. Beyond that, they really just have to build out the area to match the rest of the neighborhood. Since there is so much land, single-family bungalows and townhomes shouldn't be out of the question if they are built in conjunction with some more retail space. Make it kind of a family-friendly Uptown. The infrastructure there really can't support the density that would be created by building the who area out with condos, but there should be a few closer to major streets, esp. Ford Parkway. Even a good economy couldn't support the construction to build it all out in once, so it will happen over 20 or 30 years instead of trying to rush it.
Finally, if they build this area out with buildings on large parcels of land it will flop.