Downtown Edwardsville $6 million office building moving ahead
EDWARDSVILLE — Construction of a four-story office building in downtown Edwardsville is expected to begin early next month.
Scott Plocher, speaking for the developers, said construction would be completed in about a year. He said the entire building would be leased to a single tenant — a business already located in Edwardsville — and would help keep at least 50 or 60 well-paid jobs in the city.
He said that business would announce its plans in coming weeks.
Plocher is president of Highland-based Plocher Construction, a partner in the development group, North Main Street Plaza LLC, and will build and manage the $6 million, 30,800-square-foot structure.
"We believe it is a good project at the right time," he said.
The building will be in the 100 block of North Main Street, near the Madison County Courthouse and Administration buildings. It will replace existing buildings at 130 North Main Street, between Erato on Main, a wine bar-restaurant, and Big Daddy’s Patio Bar & Grill.
The project will include a public walkway from Main Street to parking lots at the rear of the building. New construction will also make it possible for Erato to add an outdoor dining area. Chris Byron, part owner of Erato, is among a group of lawyers who are investors in North Main Street Plaza.
In August, about 30 people demonstrated against demolition of the existing structures — parts of which are a century old — but Plocher said it would be "virtually impossible" to renovate them under today’s codes. He said the developers do not consider them historic, though they are in the city’s Downtown Historic District. The Historic Preservation Commission later approved demolition.
Plocher said the commission wanted a design that complemented the look of older downtown buildings, and that the exterior design will resemble the century-old Wildey Theatre down the street. The city owns the long-closed theater and recently decided to undertake its renovation.
Other opposition to the North Main Street Plaza project focused on the developers’ request for $125,000 in assistance for asbestos abatement and demolition from the city’s existing downtown TIF fund no fax payday loans. Plocher said the request was reasonable because of the need for asbestos abatement, the difficulty of demolition due to the buildings’ age and proximity to other buildings, and the additional expense of building a structure in keeping with the historic look of the business district.
Plocher said the redevelopment is expected to boost property taxes to about $133,000 from about $8,000. A development agreement provides that 60 percent of the projected $125,000 annual tax increment would go to the developer and 40 percent to the city. The TIF district will expire in 2020.
The City Council voted 4-2 last week to approve the agreement, which included the money for abatement and demolition.
Alderman Rich Walker, one of the dissenters, said he thought the project would be good for the city but objected to providing money to developers before increased tax revenues started coming in. He said it would be inconsistent with what the city had done in two previous TIF projects.
City Administrator Ben Dickmann said Mayor Gary Niebur and his administration were pleased by the outcome.
Dickmann said the developers did what they were asked and "put forward a design that was a better fit for downtown than a lot of new construction. We believe it will help us retain professional offices downtown. It will add office space so we will be positioned to take advantage when this recession ends."
Dickmann said Edwardsville is lucky for a city of its size to have two major downtown development projects planned or under way.
Work continues on Plaza on the Park, a combined retail and residential development on two corners of the intersection of Vandalia and Buchanan streets. Dickmann said total investment in that project will be about $14 million. Its developer is Joseph E. Meyer & Associates of Edwardsville.