Illinois Business Journal Illinois Business Journal
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Hot spots fuel residential development in Southwestern Illinois
By ALAN J. ORTBALS
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   More than 260 residential subdivisions are under way in Madison and St. Clair counties alone, according to Market Graphics Inc. and the Home Builders Association of Greater Southwest Illinois.
   Most of them are clumped into several hot markets: O'Fallon/Fairview Heights, Edwardsville/Glen Carbon, Godfrey and Highland.
   These hot spots are being driven by a number of factors, according to homebuilders active in the market.
   Vantage Homes has 10 communities currently under development primarily in St. Clair County and is working on several projects in Madison County. Christopher Matteo is general manager of Vantage's Illinois division.
   "Fairview Heights, for example, is a hot market because of all the [continue]
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Alaska nets more than $200 million in federal T bill funds for bridge to nowhere
By JIM PARSONS

Bridge connecting the Village of Ketchikan with Gravina Island
Above is just one artist's concept of Alaska's future bridge that will connect the 8,000-resident village of Ketchikan with Gravina Island, population 50. The state is getting nearly $1 billion from the latest federal transportation bill to fund several new spans and other projects; this bridge will be the largest.

   As the Illinois and Missouri Departments of Transportation engage a consultant in the process of cutting more than a third off the $1.6 billion cost of a new Mississippi River bridge, Alaska is ramping up to build a span larger than the Golden Gate Bridge to connect two sparsely populated islands.
   Is the recently enacted federal transportation bill a milestone achievement that will ensure the continued growth of the nation's infrastructure and economy? Or is it merely the latest super-sized example of Congressional pork-barrel politics?
   For the most part, the answer lies somewhere in the middle [continue]

Homebuilding, commercial development send regional tax base soaring
By KERRY L. SMITH

   From 1995 through 2004, a healthy number of municipalities throughout Madison, St. Clair and Monroe counties have seen their total assessed values double or even triple. Mayors, city managers and tax assessors say that's a sign of what Southwestern Illinois already knows: its quality of life factor is translating into staying power.
   Looking at cities on an individual basis, it's not surprising to note that over the past nine years, Edwardsville has recorded a 139 percent increase in assessed value - or that O'Fallon's numbers reflect a 140 percent increase over the same time period.
   But what may surprise some is that Troy's assessed valuation has risen 138 percent over that same time period. Madison County Board Chairman Alan Dunstan isn't at all surprised by that number; he sold a home in Troy a few years back.
   "I sold a 1,000-square-foot home with a double garage four years ago in Troy for $98,500," said Dunstan. "Today I bet they'd get $110,000 for it. I think a key reason the assessments are going up is that people are coming here from Missouri, and also because people who already live in Southwestern Illinois are moving up and [continue]