Illinois Business Journal - City of Belleville to top new building permit record in 2003

BELLEVILLE - To homeowners, business owners and developers here, the news that zip codes 62223 and 62221 rank 22nd and 38th on the list of the 50 'wealthiest' zip codes in all of Greater St. Louis (according to the St. Louis Business Journal) had to have come as a pleasant surprise.

But to city leaders and other progressive thinkers in the city of Belleville, this news didn't surprise at all. Belleville Mayor Mark Kern and economic development and planning director Mike Malloy say it's nice recognition for a long-term strategic plan that is indeed bearing fruit.

In fact, the two report that even in a faltering economy, the city of Belleville is already recording a $500,000 retail sales tax revenue increase since January.

What is Belleville doing right?

"In the past five years, our economic development and planning team has consistently been making sure we have available industrial ground and appropriate infrastructure to meet the needs of developers and expanding or relocating businesses," Kern said. "Couple that with the low interest rates we've continued to enjoy and we think Belleville has sparked a lot of business' expansion plans, making them a reality."

Two industrial parks on Belleville's west side, both close to Interstate 255, lend credence to Kern's comments.

More than 50 businesses moved to Belleville in 2002, Malloy said, pointing to ease of obtaining necessary city permits, affordable land and gap financing as key reasons for choosing the city as their site.

"Businesses want a place to move into without a hassle," Malloy said. "We make it very easy for them to choose Belleville, through an expedited permitting process and access to benefits such as our Enterprise Zone and Tax Increment Financing District."

With two city zip codes ranking as among the wealthiest in the region, Belleville and neighboring cities and villages stand to see more positive rankings if the demand for upscale home building continues.

"We recently annexed approximately 400 acres on Illinois Route 15 East toward Freeburg," Malloy said. "We're in the process of looking at a portion of that being in our TIF district. We've already issued general obligation bonds totaling nearly $4 million for water and sewer installation here. This has the potential for being one of the most significant projects in the city of Belleville's future."

The land itself, he said, is going to be a combination of commercial, heavy commercial and residential development.

"This annexation significantly extends Belleville's city limits," Malloy said. "We've already approved preliminary plans for two 50-acre subdivisions, and this is without water and sewer infrastructure being in place."

Construction of Illinois Route 158, also known as the new outer belt, is under way and will ultimately connect the Jefferson Barracks Bridge all the way to Troy, Kern said. "This has the potential to be built and in use within the next seven to 10 years," he said.

It's a common understanding among planners that developments follow the route of major highways, and Belleville's growth path is no exception.

"Route 15 itself is a major arterial for our area," Malloy said. "And it's in the process of being upgraded to five lanes, from Greenmount Road to Troy. We've got plans right now to build 1,500 homes in this city within the next five years - on the east side of Belleville - and that's truly exciting."

These homes will range from $100,000 to $400,000 apiece with a variety of square footage, Kern said.

"That news is in stark contrast to where the city was five years ago," the mayor said. "In 1998, no new subdivisions were going up in Belleville. Today we've got at least six, with more on the drawing board. In the past three years, we've issued at least 100 building permits annually for single-family residential homes. We're pretty confident that number will top 200 (permits) in 2003."

Major street-scaping efforts will soon be noticeable along Route 159, from the downtown square south to Route 15, Malloy said. "We recently completed the South Illinois Corridor Study and are planning $15 million in public improvements over the next 20 years. Basically, we're going to make the area more walkable."