This article originally ran in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on October 17, 2022.
Electric car manufacturer Tesla has plans to open a massive warehouse south of Interstate 270 in the Metro East. The company signed a lease for nearly 667,000 square feet of space at Gateway TradePort, a planned industrial park in Pontoon Beach, according to a market report from commercial real estate firm CBRE.
It’s not clear what Tesla has planned for the warehouse, which is under construction at 1202 Tradeport Parkway, off I-270 and Illinois Route 111. Neither the company nor the developer, NorthPoint Development of Kansas City, immediately responded to a request for comment. Tesla’s website also did not list any jobs available in Southern Illinois.
The warehouse deal comes as the company is planning to open a dealership and service center in south St. Louis County, about 27 miles southwest of the Metro East facility. It also operates a dealership in Chesterfield.
