Illinois Business Journal - Developers predict 'bright future' for Metro East

SHILOH - Seven years ago, when most people looked south of the Interstate 64/Highway 50 interchange in O'Fallon, they saw a cornfield.

But entrepreneurs visualize what most people don't see. Illinois real estate developers Darrell Shelton and Darwin Miles saw the retail development of Fairview Heights and O'Fallon continuing to stretch to the east, even into Shiloh.

"Darrell took a big risk in 1995 when he bought 22 acres just south of the I-64/Highway 50 interchange," Miles said. "But in 1996, a 15-screen Wehrenberg theater was completed and opened. Darrell named that development Central Park Plaza. Today, Central Park Plaza is 300 acres, stretching to the east, all the way to Greenmount Road."

Indeed, Shelton's and Miles' vision of retail development - stretching as far east as Shiloh - has become a reality. Evidence of that vision is the 250,000-square-foot Dierbergs Greenmount Crossing shopping center, nearing completion at the southeast corner of the new interchange at I-64 and Greenmount Road (Exit 16), about one mile east of the I-64/Highway 50 interchange (Exit 14).

Shelton bought 77 acres and sold 57 acres to Dierbergs Markets for its Shiloh-based shopping center; its two anchors are a 72,000-square-foot Dierbergs grocery store, scheduled to open in April, and a 124,000-square-foot super Target, slated to open in March.

Shelton has been the primary land buyer and developer. Miles, a commercial real estate broker, has handled the marketing and is co-developer on projects such as the 81-room Holiday Inn Express - under construction just east of the Dierbergs center - scheduled for completion in May.

"A key factor in all this has been the building of the I-64/Greenmount Road interchange (Exit 16), which was competed in November 2001," Shelton said. "In order to get a new interchange built on a federal interstate highway, you need cooperation from every level of government, and that's exactly what happened to get this interchange built."

Shelton, 49, is a native of Columbia, Mo., but his wife, Joyce, is from Belleville. They have been married 26 years and have three children.

Shelton was a successful residential developer and homebuilder in Belleville, Fairview Heights, O'Fallon and Shiloh, when he began developing commercial property.

Miles, 45, is a native of Freeburg and a graduate of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Of Miles' 21 years in real estate brokerage, the last 16 have been focused on commercial real estate.

A variety of commercial and residential uses have developed within the 300-acre Central Park Plaza, Miles said. Forty acres were recently sold to a joint venture of Taylor-Morley Homes and Balke Brown Associates, to develop 550 residential units, 250 garden style apartments and 300 villa homes.

"This area has been discovered by the Missouri residential builders," Shelton said. "Four of the five largest St. Louis home builders are building within one mile of Central Park Plaza: Taylor-Morley, Jones, Whittaker and McBride/Vantage."

With regard to commercial development within Central Park Plaza, Miles said the list is lengthy. It includes the Wehrenberg 15-screen movie theater, a 140,000-square-foot Garden Ridge Pottery store, Meyer Honda, Newbold Toyota/BMW, Nationwide rental car sales and a host of restaurants.

"We still have room for 400,000 to 500,000 square feet of retail space within Central Park Plaza," Miles said. "I foresee several big box retailers locating here."

From 1993 to 2000, retail sales in Fairview Heights increased 41 percent to $763 million, Shelton said. During this same period, O'Fallon experienced a 145 percent increase in retail sales revenues, to $471 million.

"Not only is this area the retail center of Metro East, but studies show this is the primary shopping area for 200,000 people who live in rural areas to the east," Shelton said.

Miles said the area's future is bright.

"The quality of life is good here," he said. "And the development in Missouri has gone so far west that we are seeing an 'echo' effect. This area is close to downtown St. Louis, and its cultural and sports centers. After you get across the bridge, there is no traffic to speak of in Illinois. You can't say that for Missouri."