Lebanon business development gets a boost after county approves tax incentive

A planned grocery store and gas station development in Lebanon will receive an economic boost after St. Clair County Board members approved a tax incentive district expansion Monday.

The Elbe family plans to build a grocery store named after the family patriarch, Don Elbe, who ran Don's IGA from 1980 until his death in 2000. Don Elbe's son, Michael Elbe, is spearheading the new project.

A gas station is also part of proposed development plans from the city.

County Board members approved expanding the St. Clair County MidAmerica Enterprise Zone to include the planned development near 705 S. Madison St.

Michael Elbe could not be reached for comment Monday.

Enterprise zones, much like tax increment financing districts, are meant to encourage businesses to build in impoverished or under-served areas.

Lebanon has gone without a grocery store since Tom's Market, formerly Don's IGA, closed in the fall.

The enterprise zone will allow developers like the Elbe family to build or renovate without paying sales tax on building materials for construction on a one-time basis.

In other business

• The Sheriff's Department will buy two new Ford Explorers from Morrow Brothers Ford in Greenfield after the Board approved $62,480 for the purchases.
  
  
• County Engineer Norman Etling received a Patriot Award from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve for his efforts in working with National Guard employees. The ESGR is a Department of Defense program "promoting cooperation and understanding between civilian employers and their National Guard and Reserve employees," according to the program's website.
  
  
• County Board members approved the appointment of Marcy Deitz to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a five-year term expiring Dec. 31, 2023. Deitz is a real estate broker with Coldwell Banker Brown Realtors in Belleville.
  
  
• The Board approved a $7,500 study by Thouvenot, Wade and Moerchen to prepare an application for money from the Federal Highway Administration Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program. Funding would go toward improvements to the intersection of Frank Scott Parkway West and North Belt West.
  
  
• The County allocated $2.5 million from the Motor Fuel Tax fund for maintaining streets and highways in the remainder of 2018.
  
  
• Board members approved a $865,077 bid from Baxmeyer Construction for reconstruction of River Park Drive and for building a roundabout at River Park Drive and B Street in East St. Louis.
  
  
• The Board approved a special use permit for the construction of two additional mini-warehouse storage units at M&M Storage on Mascoutah Avenue at Keck Road just east of Belleville in Shiloh Valley Township. There are currently five storage buildings on the property.
  
  

Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Marcy Deitz works for Swansea-based Prestige Realty Group, citing outdated information the County Board packet. Deitz recently began working as a real estate broker with Coldwell Banker Brown Realtors in Belleville.

This story was originally published April 30, 2018 at 8:50 PM with the headline "Lebanon business development gets a boost after county approves tax incentive."