O’Fallon to welcome Mid America Commerce Center
A nationally recognized warehouse/distribution developer is beginning phase one of St. Clair County’s first industrial park.
TriStar Companies, known for its development of the 2,300-acre Gateway Commerce Center in Madison County (Edwardsville and Pontoon Beach), is embarking on a development in O’Fallon. TriStar Vice President of Development Bobby Klucker said the 200-acre park, called Mid America Commerce Center, is located just south of Interstate 64, east of Illinois 158 and north of Scott Air Force Base. The park represents an opportunity for tenants of build-to-suit buildings ranging from 25,000 square feet to 710,000 square feet of warehouse/distribution space.
The industrial park’s direct access to I-64 via a new exit (Rieder Road), its already-built infrastructure of roads, water and sewer, a 10-year tax abatement incentive for tenants and TriStar’s ability to complete a building in as little as seven months are perks for those seeking industrial ground to expand their existing operations. The developer’s existing tenants in established parks such as Gateway include P&G, Amazon and World Wide Technology.
“We’ve built a lot in Gateway Commerce Center over the past four to five years,” said Klucker of the Edwardsville park that opened in 1996 and is nearly full. “Demand for warehouse/distribution space has really skyrocketed, and we don’t anticipate that slowing down anytime soon.
“We stand ready to build to suit and serve regional tenants (those within a 400- to 500-mile distribution radius), local (those within a 100- to 200-mile radius) and the new phenomenon of tenant — the just-in-time, e-commerce, localized delivery distribution/warehouse tenant or a data center site. Mid America Commerce Center will remain flexible, particularly in its infancy, to accommodate any one of these clients,” he added.
Mid America Commerce Center offers opportunities to lease or build to suit Class A, concrete tilt-up industrial buildings with improvement packages. Building shell specifications include 32-foot clear heights, 50x50-foot column spacing, 38 dock doors, two drive-in doors, 2,000-amp 480v upgradable electrical service, LED high-bay fixtures with motion sensors and a 45-million TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin) roof system with a 15-year warranty.
Having Scott Air Force Base near the O’Fallon-based facility represents another asset according to Klucker and O’Fallon Mayor Herb Roach.
“Scott Air Force Base — located within minutes of this new industrial park development — has some of the best logistics minds in the world who know how to move people and materials,” said Roach, who, in his professional career, has developed 15 facilities in the U.S. and five other countries. “If you’re looking for a workforce that truly understands what it means to come to work and work efficiently, particularly within the intelligence and technology space, we’ve got the best people right here, no doubt.”
Steve Zuber, principal for commercial and industrial brokerage firm BARBERMURPHY, said the new park is located above the Mississippi River Bluffs — which means flood risk is completely eliminated.
“All the buildings below the Mississippi River Bluffs have to be built up above the 500-year flood plain,” said Zuber. “Manufacturing/distribution companies can eliminate flood insurance costs and other construction expenses surrounding any flood risk issues by coming to this park.
“Mid America Commerce Center offers a 10-year (property) tax abatement and the benefits of the state of Illinois’ Mid-America Enterprise Zone. We’re excited to represent TriStar on this development.”
Other highlights from industrial park
In addition to jobs creation, the new industrial park will augment property tax revenues for O’Fallon, its school districts and surrounding St. Clair County, according to Roach.
“The more diversified we are as a community and a region, the broader our economic base can be and the better off we are,” the mayor said. “The tax dollars that this development will generate will take a load off of our residential taxpayers and will benefit our city, our county, our schools and our region. Mid America Commerce Center is good for the entire metro-east area. It’s a classic example of collaboration with all of us working together for good.”
For more information on Mid America Commerce Center, contact Zuber at BARBERMURPHY, 618-277-4400 or steve@barbermurphy.com.