Developer: Top goal to create jobs
Groups see presentation on logistics park
Thursday, June 28, 2007
GALESBURG - The Business District Development and Redevelopment Commission got a look Wednesday at plans to market Logistics Park-Galesburg, as well as a presentation to clear up what were called "misconceptions" about development of the park.Jim Ford of CenterPoint Properties, and Roger Sandstrom of Mercantile Companies Inc. attended. The Galesburg Regional Economic Development Association entered into an agreement with the two companies April 12 to market the park to firms wanting to build distribution warehouses. Portions of the 350-acre park will be given to the CenterPoint and Mercantile if, and when, companies agree to own or lease a building in the park, located between Galesburg and Knoxville.
Members of the GREDA board were shown the presentation about a month ago.
Ford said the combined budget for Mercantile and CenterPoint is $120,000, which will be used for engineering, design, architecture, travel, general administration, trade show exhibits and other expenses. The two companies will spend $10,000 to produce an animated piece about the logistics park, which will be included in a GREDA video. GREDA plans to spend $25,000 to produce a piece to tout Galesburg as a community.
Ford said the development partners will spend $10,000 for design, printing and distribution of direct-mail fliers to be sent to industrial real estate brokerages and site-selection firms.
"Our No. 1 job, our No. 1 goal, is to create opportunities and create jobs," Ford said.
Businesses targeted for sales calls include national transportation companies, international transportation steamship companies, logistics providers, big-box retailers and transload warehouse and distribution companies.
GREDA Executive Director Greg Mangieri said the international transportation steamship companies are, "probably the single most important opportunity we could have in finding one big company come in and take up a big portion of the property ... if they decided to choose Galesburg as an inland port."
Mangieri said that will be the major emphasis on the continuing China emphasis. GREDA and city representatives have made a number of trips to China, with Chinese representatives also visiting here. More trips to China are planned.
Ford said the China initiative, which will include the developers, will include calls to Galesburg's sister city, MaAnshan and sister province, Liaoning, participation in the World SME EXPO in Hong Kong and tours and meetings with visiting government and industry delegations.
"There's so many opportunities out there with what is happening in China and other countries," Ford said. "Galesburg has already had success with China ... where I don't see other communities focusing on that opportunity."
Commission member Greg Kistler gave a PowerPoint presentation about the "misconceptions."
"The two main misconceptions are the logistics park was a by-product of Maytag closing. "That's not true," Kistler said. "And, the City Council passed the one-quarter cent sales tax to fund the bond payments for the logistics park. That's not true."
The city issued $4 million in bonds in 2003 to buy the land; GREDA paid $500,000. GREDA's portion came from the sale of Maytag's former plastics building on South Linwood Road to Holm Industries in 2001. Earlier, Maytag donated that building to GREDA.
The sales tax was approved April 7, 2003, to assist with economic development; bond financing arrangements were made Jan. 27, 2003 and bonds issued Feb. 3 of that year.
Presenting an economic development timeline dating back to 1987, Kistler said when the Dick Blick Co. bought 20 acres in Industrial Park III in July of 2000, "we had no more land to show anybody. ... So the impetus for the logistics park was well before the Maytag announcement."
Maytag announced its plans in October 2002.
"This whole initiative was proactive, not reactive," said Carl Sandburg College President Tom Schmidt, a member of GREDA's Executive Board.
