By Dennis Grubaugh
Illinois Business Journal
O’Fallon Mayor Herb Roach likes to point out that the Gateway Commerce Center has evolved over 25 years, continuing to bring dividends to its host communities in Edwardsville and Pontoon Beach. Those same possibilities now exist in O’Fallon, with Gateway’s primary developer, St. Louis-based TriStar Properties, preparing to develop its first building in the Mid America Commerce Center at the new Exit 21 interchange at Rieder Road and Interstate 64 near Scott Air Force Base.
“It’s kind of a big deal for O’Fallon, and even St. Clair County. The county has Belle Valley Industrial Park (in Belleville), but it’s smaller, so they don’t really have anything to compete with Madison County and Gateway,” Roach said.
Potentially, Mid America Commerce Center could offer larger distribution facilities with more storage capability. Those are in short supply nationally in the wake of COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders that have driven e-commerce, Roach said. Steve Zuber and Wayne Barber, two of the principals at Shiloh-based BARBERMurphy Group, have the real estate listing on the ground and are looking for tenants.