St. Clair County is buying a former Auffenberg car lot in Belleville. Here’s why
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The board that manages St. Clair County-owned buildings voted Thursday to spend $830,000 to purchase two Belleville properties officials say will help visitors get to the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds & Expo Center.
The Public Building Commission agreed to purchase the former Auffenberg used car lot at 1120 S. Illinois St. for $730,000 and a home at 1132 S. Church St. in Belleville for $100,000.
St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said the Auffenberg property will give the fairgrounds another entrance and exit, plus space for the possibility of additional signage.
The home on Church Street may temporarily be used for a construction office, but its land will eventually be used for additional fairgrounds parking, according to Jim Brede, the county buildings director.
Brede said the property purchases will come out of the Public Building Commission’s budget and may be reimbursed by the $14 million the county earmarked for Belle-Clair Fairgrounds renovations from its share of federal COVID-related relief funds from the American Rescue Plan.
The county also used $2.35 million of its COVID relief money to buy the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds from private ownership in late 2022.
Rebuilding the Belle-Clair Speedway racetrack facility on the 22.5 acre property is among the renovations planned. Additional details about the plans for the racetrack weren’t available Thursday.
The Public Building Commission started approving contracts last summer for architectural and engineering work at the fairgrounds. At Thursday’s meeting, the board approved a $585,000 architectural contract with Hurford Architects, Inc. for renovation of the main exposition space, including the lobby and kitchen.
The Auffenberg property last sold in 2019 from Capital Automotive Holdings LLC to Auffenberg Belleville LLC for $1.6 million, according to county property records. The owner couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Auffenberg operates a nearby Ford dealership at 901 S. Illinois St. in Belleville, in addition to dealerships in Shiloh and O’Fallon.
County records show that the South Church Street home last sold in 2022 for $70,000.
This story was originally published February 16, 2024 at 6:45 AM.
