The cities of Columbia and Dupo are now working to revive the long-planned Fish Lake project, which would open to development more than 2,000 acres of land along I-255 just east of the Mississippi River.  (Photo courtesy city of Columbia)

Amazon plans Metro-East distribution center

Online retailing giant Amazon is planning to open a massive, new distribution center in Edwardsville’s Lakeview Commerce Center.

While declining further comment due to confidentiality agreements with the company, local officials quietly say the new Amazon order fulfillment center would mark the latest step in efforts to develop the Edwardsville area as a major regional industrial distribution hub.

Officials with the new St. Louis Freightway District, in a web post last month, cited the proposed new Amazon facility, as part of their plans to develop Greater St. Louis as a major, inland multimodal distribution center.

Amazon is developing a worldwide network of order fulfill and sorting centers in an effort to decrease delivery times and expand services, according to trade press reports.   The company presently has distribution centers in at least 17 states, with the nearest in Hebron, KY and Kansas City, Mo.

Madison County Board Chairman Alan Dunstan told a recent meeting of the Riverbend Growth Association that the new Amazon facility will employ 500 to 600 workers, according to the Alton Telegraph.

Development plans for the Amazon facility have not yet been considered by the Edwardsville Planning and Zoning Commission or other public bodies; however, city officials confirm Amazon has applied for business permits.

The company has already begun advertising for three employees based in Edwardsville.

Lakeview Commerce Center, Illinois Route 111 at New Poag Road,  is a 550 acre distribution park with several existing buildings. It is located just north of the intersection of I-270 and I-255.

Lawmakers spar over NGA funding

The House Appropriations Committee, at the request of Illinois’ congressional delegation, has cut from its proposed 2017 Defense Appropriation Budget, $801,000 in land acquisition funding that had previously allocated for the National Geospacial-Intelligence Agency’s (NGA) new western headquarters complex.

Rep. Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) released information on the proposed funding cuts after NGA officials announced last month they had tentatively selected a site in North St. Louis as the location for the new Next NGA West (N2W) complex. Illinois officials would like to see the facility built on a tract just north of Scott Air Force Base in St. Clair County.

Missouri’s congressional delegation countered last week, inserting the $801,000 in a separate military construction bill.

However, the Appropriation Committee also reduced planning funds for the facility from $72 million to $36 million.  Missouri lawmakers have yet to restore that funding.

The Metro-East location would be more secure and less expensive than the St. Louis site, Sen. Brost contends.

In a May 16 letter to NGA Director Robert Cardillo, Illinois lawmakers noted that an independent assessment, by the risk analysis firm Command Consulting Group, found the St. Louis location would not meet Department of Defense minimum security parameters regarding encroachment and standoff distance.

During a meeting between Cardillo and Southwestern Illinois’ congressional delegation last month, an NGA staff member reportedly acknowledged that, if located in St. Louis, part of the N2W complex would have to be constructed underground to meet security requirements – substantially increasing costs.

Final funding for the N2W will likely be determined by the House-Senate Conference Committee this summer.

Cardillo is still expected to issue a final decision on the NGA site by early June.

Columbia, Dupo hope to restart Fish Lake project

The cities of Columbia and Dupo are now working together in an effort to revive the long-planned Fish Lake project, which would open to development more than 2,000 acres of land along I-255 just east of the Mississippi River. Key to the effort is construction of the proposed new Fish Lake Interchange at Ramsey Road and I-255.  

Columbia city officials formally proposed annexation and development of the tract known the I-255 Development District a decade ago. Plans for the Fish Lake Interchange were approved in 2007 by the Illinois Department of Transportation. However, the effort stalled in 2008 due to budgetary and political concerns.

Dupo officials for years opposed the Fish Lake project, hoping to get an interstate exchange in their municipality and develop their own business park. However, officials from the two towns have now agreed to work out a mutually-agreeable plan for annexation of the I-255 Development Corridor land into their boundaries. The area is now mostly unincorporated and in agricultural us.

Both cities are now jointly asking IDOT and the East-West Gateway Council of Governments to give priority to the Fish Lake interchange.

They also suggest IDOT also use the interchange as a connection point for the Gateway Connector, a road long sought by the state as an east-west route from near Scott Air Force Base to the Mississippi River.

Collinsville fire rating upgraded

The quality of fire department services in the city of Collinsville continues to improve, according to the Insurance Services Office (ISO), and local property owners could see that reflected in their insurance premiums. Effective May 1, the ISO upgraded Collinsville’s Public Protection Classification (PPC) from Class 4 to Class 3.

The private insurance industry consultancy rates municipal fire department and emergency services on a one-to-10 scale.  Only 8.8 percent of U.S. cities have a Class 3 or better rating.  Collinsville’s rating improved from a 6 to a 4 in 2007.

Studies have shown that the results of a change in the PPC rating from a 4 to a 3 will likely have up to a  2 to 3 percent reduction in insurance premium costs for homes in the affected areas, the city notes.

Alton casino revenues down again

Even without near-record Mississippi River flooding to deter patrons, gaming revenues continued to decline last month at the Argosy Alton Casino.  Net gambling revenues at the casino decreased 17 percent to $4.3 million in April, according to the Illinois Gaming Commission. That followed a 12.6 percent decline in March.  Downriver in East St. Louis, the Casino Queen saw gaming revenue increase 5.3 percent to $9.6 million.

–Metro East Area News Briefs–