More signs of O’Fallon ‘growing up’ with new office building
Commercial real estate broker Terry Heimann bought two vacant lots that bracketed an old brick house from former O’Fallon Mayor Gary Graham in 2004.
Next year, the property will be transformed into a sleek modern office building that may bring more of O’Fallon “growing up.”
Construction on the Highway 50 Office Suites has begun, with the 3-story, 36,000 square-foot building, located at 821 West U.S. 50, expected to be completed by summer 2021. A groundbreaking ceremony took place Nov. 6.
“I made a comment on a social media post that the city of O’Fallon is literally growing up, and with that comes bigger, more vertical buildings. There will be some amazing views from the third floor space, and I believe the project is the beginning of multi-story activity we will see on the Highway 50 corridor,” said Heimann, the principal and managing broker at Gateway Commercial Real Estate.
There are already several multiple-story commercial buildings along North Green Mount Road, near the “Medical Mile.”
Last year, Heimann sold the ground to his close friend, Dr. Josh Wilson. Heimann had rented the house for many years but knocked it down when he sold the property.
Co-owners are Wilson, an optometrist with Advanced Vision Care in Belleville, and Dr. Michael Stock, an ophthalmologist with Ideal Eye Surgery in O’Fallon. They are partners in the development but both own practices and each will have offices in the building.
“The goal was always to develop it as retail or office, but we never found the big anchor tenant,” Heimann said. “Josh had introduced me to Dr. Michael Stock back in 2018, and hearing that they both had office needs in O’Fallon, it just made sense for them to develop the ground. I would stay on to help with early design, selecting a general contractor, leasing, so forth, but I do not have any ownership in the property.”
Wilson had said they decided to build there, instead of using an existing structure, because they were told there was no class A space available and that commercial space goes very fast in O’Fallon.
“I had always planned to expand my business to O’Fallon since we live in the area and are very involved in the community,” Wilson said. “When Terry told me that he was considering selling the property, I approached Dr. Stock about partnering on the project.
“We feel it is an excellent location right off of Highway 50 and near the developments occurring at St Elizabeth’s. We also feel the surrounding area will also be redeveloped in the near future.”
Discussions are ongoing with multiple other businesses as tenants. When the offices are ready will be determined by the signed leases.
“We are excited about our project and what it can bring to further expand the growth of O’Fallon. It will house both professional and medical tenants and is planned for a July 2021 completion,” Wilson said. “Overall, I think the community has embraced and supported our project.”