Illinois Business Journal Illinois Business Journal
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American Bottom to be hit with expensive flood insurance mandate
By ALAN J. ORTBALS

   Anyone in the American Bottom who has a mortgage from a federally regulated or insured lender and that mortgage is secured by a building will have to buy flood insurance a year from now, if things stay on track.
   And that insurance may nearly quadruple over current rates.
   In August 2007, the Federal Emergency Management Agency notified area leaders that the American Bottom was being remapped for flood risk. The expectation at that time was that the levees protecting the area would be decertified, and the entire area would fall into a high-risk zone.
   “There are plenty of high-hazard zones already shown in the three Metro East counties behind the levees,” said David Schein, regional flood insurance liaison for FEMA’s Region 5. “The issue

. FEMA has released preliminary maps that will designate virtually the entire American Bottom a high-hazard zone for flooding. Many property owners in the Bottom will be required to buy flood insurance when the maps become official in August 2009.
is if the levees get deaccredited - which is supposed to happen next year - the depths of flooding would be much greater. Instead of there being pockets of high-flood hazard area, [continue]

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Fuel costs, job losses factor into timing of housing market’s rebound

. Southwestern Illinois’s anticipated housing market rebound will be influenced by related factors, including excess housing inventory and recovery from the subprime mortgage crisis. Photo courtesy of The Associated Press. . By ANGELA SHULTIS

   According to a housing price forecast created by the University of Illinois’ Regional Economics Application Laboratory, Illinois saw housing sales decline overall between 22 percent and 26 percent during the second quarter of 2008, compared to the same time last year, with median prices expected to trend downward through September at a rate of 5 percent to 6 percent per month.
   No matter what side of the real estate industry you’re on or what numbers you pull, there’s no two ways about it; the current residential real estate market is a tough one.
   Such statistics lead to the one question

on everyone’s mind: When will the rebound come? Short of access to a real estate crystal ball, there’s no answer that’s definitive. But Southwestern Illinois experts agree; it’s going to be later rather than sooner. Still, there appears to be room for a degree of optimism. [continue]

Southwestern Illinois cities pouring millions into downtown projects
By ALAN J. ORTBALS

   Southwestern Illinois cities are aiming to spruce up their downtown areas and are investing millions to make it happen.
   Belleville is nearly complete on its 13-block, $7 million Main Street project. Edwardsville has established a 4th tax increment financing district to extend streetscape improvements on Main Street north to Illinois Rte. 159. Last month, Granite City’s city council approved an $11 million bond issue for downtown improvements. And, the city of Collinsville just approved a plan to do a major overhaul of its central business district. [continue]