WENTZVILLE — Ameren Missouri wants to build a 66-acre training complex here that officials say will draw thousands of utility workers each year.
The Wentzville Board of Aldermen will hold a public hearing on Ameren’s proposal Wednesday as part of its regular meeting; the six-member board is expected to approve the project.
According to city documents, the training facility will be located on 66 acres of largely vacant land near the intersection of Josephville and Mexico roads on the city’s northside, near the General Motors plant.
It will replace a similar training complex in Maryland Heights, which the company has outgrown, said Jon Shockley, Ameren’s director of energy delivery training. He said the company is evaluating future uses for the existing facility.
Plans for the new training campus include an 80,952-square-foot building with space for Ameren workers to train year-round in classrooms and labs where apprentice overhead linemen, underground linemen and substation technicians will train “component by component†how to do their jobs safely.
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The new campus will also feature an indoor pole yard, which Shockley described as a “climbing space†where new employees will be evaluated.
The campus will also include outdoor training areas for using heavy machinery, installing fiber optic wiring, learning to fly drones to survey storm damage, and a mock town where Ameren employees will practice installing electric equipment and solar and battery storage devices.
In a memo to city leaders, Ameren officials said they anticipate between 150 to 200 people training at the complex each weekday. The facility will be open Monday through Friday.
“We think all employees will benefit from this facility,†Shockley said. He said Ameren envisions bringing employees from throughout Missouri to the new facility, including workers from Kirksville, Cape Girardeau, and the eastern suburbs of Kansas City.
If approved, Ameren officials estimate that construction on the complex will begin in April 2026 and will be completed by the end of 2027; Ameren has not released cost estimates or how the complex would be paid for.
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