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Installation of a box culvert within the Nameoki Ditch along Johnson Road is part of the Nameoki Corridor improvement strategy for Granite City.
Installation of a box culvert within the Nameoki Ditch along Johnson Road is part of the Nameoki Corridor improvement strategy for Granite City.
Installation of a box culvert within the Nameoki Ditch along Johnson Road is part of the Nameoki Corridor improvement strategy for Granite City.
While plenty of work remains to be done, Granite City continues to make progress with its improvement strategy for the Nameoki Corridor.
According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Nameoki Corridor has an average daily traffic count of 15,000 to 16,000 cars per day, which equates to 450,000 to 480,000 car trips by residents, shoppers and others per month.
“The Nameoki Corridor is the most important commercial corridor for Granite City,” said Cathy Hamilton, who is the economic development director for the city. “It contains some of our largest centers and some of our oldest centers. Some buildings are from the 1970s and haven’t been updated to modern times.
“This strategy was put in place by the new administration to have a plan to significantly change the corridor. We have worked on this since the beginning of Mayor (Mike) Parkinson’s administration and presented it to the City Council on June 21.”
For more than a year, city officials have worked on identifying the problems in the Nameoki Corridor, while finding ways to attract new businesses.
“The goal is to improve the customer experience and to create a thoroughfare that is welcoming to everyone who comes through it,” Hamilton said.
The Crossroads Center, located at 3995 Nameoki Road, is the centerpiece of the Nameoki Corridor improvement strategy. The center, built in 1975, has lost numerous tenants because the owner has not agreed to make needed repairs and renovations.
“That is the center that gets the most complaints from the community and from the city, which has a long history of dealing with that property in the courts because the owners have not been in compliance,” Hamilton said. “That center is in no way what the city wants to represent Granite City.
“Crossroads needs to have a new owner and it’s on the market. We’re looking for a viable buyer to come in and truly renovate the center. If you have a bad landlord and they’re not fixing things, tenants are going to move out and we have no faith in the current ownership.”
In July, Parkinson announced that a new developer was going to purchase Crossroads Center. But that deal fell through, leaving the city still looking for a new potential owner for the center.
“We have a redevelopment plan involving expanding our TIF district and we’re to try to incentivize it that way to make that shopping center look better,” Parkinson said.
Parkinson added that the city is renovating the water retention area next to Crossroads Center.
“The water retention ponds that sit behind the center have been neglected for years and we’re making sure the pumps are working properly so the parking lot isn’t freezing over in the wintertime,” Parkinson said. “We’re trying to change the image of the whole area and take it from the 1970s to the modern age.”
Whether through new ownership or more drastic measures, Parkinson said the city is determined to solve the blight issues surrounding Crossroads Center.
“It’s clear that these owners are not going to be a partner with the city on anything,” Parkinson said. “Until we can find somebody that will invest in the property, we’re going to develop everything else around it.
“At some point, if the property falls into such disrepair that it needs to be condemned, we will condemn it. I would rather have a vacant parking lot than let that building deteriorate any further.”
By the end of the December, Parkinson hopes to gain approval for an expanded TIF district that would incorporate the Crossroads Center, TriMor Center (3701 Nameoki Road) and the Goodwill Anchor (3675 and 3659 Nameoki Road).
Parkinson said the TIF expansion would boost redevelopment of those properties.
“One of our biggest centers is the former K-Mart building (3655 Nameoki Road, built in 1983) and we’re in active redevelopment on that,” Parkinson said. “We’re also expanding our TIF district in the Goodwill building (built in 1978) so we can do some façade improvements and makeovers on the building.
“If you add it up, you’re looking at almost 500,000 square feet that the mayor is trying to impact,” Hamilton added. “We have active redevelopment on 140,000 square feet, which is a lot of space. There is almost 30 acres of ground where the city is actively pursuing projects.”
At the former K-Mart location, the building will be occupied by an online furniture sales business that is looking to expand its retail business. The company’s name has not yet been made public.
“The old K-Mart building is being remodeled and the parking lot is being redone, with a new paint job to completely change the look of it,” Parkinson said. “There will be a new roof, new central air conditioning and new electrical work.
“It will be a 30,000-square-foot showroom where people can walk in and buy furniture. This company is one of the top furniture retailers on Amazon, but this gives them a retail space in Granite City.”
Another active redevelopment area is the TriMor Center, which was built in 1959 with additional construction in 1975.
“We have some small mom-and-pop stores there, with a furniture story and a whole business, and there is still a bingo center there,” Parkinson said. “Goodwill is in the next building over and it’s going to stay there, but the new owner of the complex is getting ready to do a revamp of that.
“We’re trying to get all of these properties to mesh with each other. We want it to look uniform rather than a hodgepodge of different building styles.”
The former Shop-n-Save store at 3521 Nameoki Road, which has been vacant for several years, is another target for renovation.
“Right now, the owner is remodeling that building and splitting it in half into two buildings,” Parkinson said. “Dollar Tree and Family Dollar are combining and they’re going to make one store out of both concepts, and they will move into half of the Shop-n-Save building.
The other half of the building will be occupied by Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, which offers a variety of merchandise.
“Ollie’s is a big chain across the South, but it will be the first one in our area,” Parkinson said. “It’s kind of a cross between the old Grandpa’s and Big Lots. When you went to Grandpa’s, you never knew what you might find, and this store is kind of the same way.
“You walk in one day and you might find clothes, or you might find stuff to work on your car. It’s a fantastic store and we think it will bring people from other areas as well.”
Infrastructure and flooding mitigation is another key factor in the Nameoki Corridor improvement strategy and work continues in those areas.
“The Johnson Road project is officially painted, and the road is completed, with work started on ADA-compliant sidewalks on the north side,” Parkinson said. “We are starting numerous flood prevention programs on the north end of town because we saw a lot of flooding in 2019.
“I was out today on a couple sites that are under construction to mitigate some of those flood issues. A substantial amount of work is being done on flood prevention in Granite City.”
Another part of the Nameoki Corridor project is the Entryway of Granite City at 203, and improvements for that area are underway.
“We just bought the property where you come into town on the left-hand side on Route 203 before you go underneath the overpass,” said Parkinson, who added that the city closed on the property on Wednesday. “First impression is everything, and we’re going to start developing that area and making it look nice, possibly with a new sign that says ‘Welcome to Historic Granite City.’ ”
A number of successful businesses, including Applebee’s at 3551 Nameoki Road, have been anchors on the Nameoki Corridor for years, while a new business, Royals Liquors, has opened at 3102 Nameoki Road in the old Blockbuster Video building.
Parkinson and Hamilton are looking to attract similar businesses to help revitalize the area.
“We feel that if we improve the shopping centers in the area, a lot of the other issues will take care of themselves,” Hamilton said. “Some of these centers need a lot of work to improve the customer experience.”
Scott Marion is a feature reporter for the Intelligencer. A longtime sportswriter, he has worked for the Intelligencer since December 2013. He is a graduate of Brentwood High School and the University of Missouri School of Journalism.