Riverport Plans Deferred In Lincoln County, Mo.

In 2014, the Booneslick Regional Planning Commission, based in Warrenton, Mo., received a grant from the Economic Development Administration to conduct a study analyzing freight movements through the east central Missouri region by truck, rail, air and water.

“Based on this information, a small group of community partners began to form the vision for a multimodal port facility in eastern Lincoln County,” according to a statement the group released at the time.

Out of that effort, a group of local leaders and business promoters called the Port of Lincoln Consortium began touting the benefits of a 6,500-acre parcel partly on the Mississippi River. Proposed uses for the land included a 300-acre riverport and harbor.

A key figure in the plans was Kara Jones, managing director of Jones International, a real estate development firm based in Troy, Mo.

For years, little news was forthcoming. On October 16, Jones told the Lincoln County Journal that phase one of the project will begin, with about 1,000 acres being developed out of a total of 7,120 acres. She said she was in touch with landowners and that permit applications would be submitted within three to six months.

Port Not Included

However, the initial phase does not include the river port. According to Jones, it will include a long-distance travel fueling and convenience store station, a truck and car wash, a fast food outlet, and “multiple” retail stores to be named “The Shoppes at Port of Lincoln.”

The riverport, a proposed rail facility, and lots for warehousing and distribution are planned for later phases, she said.