Walt Williams, community development director for the city of Edwardsville, describes his role as that of a conductor, orchestrating the changes to best benefit residents and businesses.
“Edwardsville is a very desirable location for investors,” Williams says. “People want to invest in the community. My role is to assure we move forward with projects that will be the best mix of businesses, residential housing, and growth.”
That growth will receive a big boost in the next few months as the community will see nearly $300 million in new construction break ground. It will be visible in every area of the community with new building construction and renovations that will have an impact on the overall look of the city.
With that new growth came an announcement by the city that the community’s unemployment rate has dropped to 3.2 percent as of January. That compares to a state rate of 4.89 percent and a national rate of 4.1 percent.
With development comes new jobs. Despite no official projections of how many employment opportunities will come at the conclusion of construction, the projects are sure to have a long-term impact on Edwardsville.
World Wide Technology plans to expand its operations in Gateway Commerce Center with the addition of two one million-square-foot buildings. Once completed, the company will bring 500 new jobs to the community, adding to its current employment level of 1,200.
While that development will take place on the western edges of Edwardsville, other projects will be more visible in the center of town. This follows with a commitment by the city to renovate the downtown area as the “front door” of the community.
“Mayor (Hal) Patton has been very persistent in downtown development,” Williams said. “Over the past three years, the city has funded $3 million annually to upgrade our downtown area.”
That investment has shown improvement in the downtown business district and, of course, the newest city facility to house public safety on South Main Street.
As a result, the former public safety facility on Main Street will soon take on a new look with a development by Gori Properties. The site will see construction of a new five-story office structure. The ground floor of the facility — 10,000 square feet — will be retail space with office spaces on the remaining four stories. Total project cost is estimated at $16 million.
Also breaking ground in the next months will be a 22,000-square-foot retail space on Plum Street and a 5,000-square-feet office space at 201 S. Main St. And 2018 will see the addition of the 8,000-square-foot retail space at 1501 Weber Drive that will include a Kyoto Steakhouse of Japan.
The new construction has also spurred renovations of existing businesses. Under way are a $2 million facelift to the Montclaire Shopping Center and a $2 million investment into a renovation project at Target. This week also saw a commitment in the form of a construction project to upgrade the McDonald’s on Troy Road.
The familiar saying of “if you build it they will come” should be amended to “if you build it they will come — and stay” in Edwardsville. And new projects under way in the city are addressing that need to expand residential opportunities.
A Richland Residential project on Poag Road near SIUE will address a need for expanded multi-family residences. The $30 million project will include nine buildings on the landscape near the university.
Edwardsville developer Fireside Financial, a private equity firm, will target an audience of millennials through seniors with the addition of the Whispering Heights development on Illinois 157. The $28 million project will feature a six-story mixed-use building with retail space on the first floor and 152 residential units on the remaining five floors. The building will include amenities such as a residential fitness center and private parking. Similar to developments in large cities, the property will offer self-contained living easily accessible to community resources.
“It’s gratifying to see Edwardsville attracting a substantial amount of investment not only from existing businesses here, but also from outside developers and Fortune 100 companies such as World Wide Technology,” Patton said. “The new growth we’re attracting is providing additional revenue to keep our city operating efficiently, and for us to expand and upgrade critical infrastructure and services to meet the needs of our residents and workforce far into the future.”
Community Development Director Walt Williams continues in his role as development conductor.
“I have worked in communities where my role was to attract new development,” he said. “In Edwardsville, the potential development comes to us with investors interested in being a part of the growth of the community. It is a desirable environment where people want to invest.”
The spring and summer of 2018 will see the fruits of that interest throughout the community. More than $300 million in projects will be visible as the city of Edwardsville continues to expand its offerings of services and jobs to the people of the community, as well as the influx of revenue to benefit everyone.