st. Peters, Missouri (KMOV) – As the Premiere 370 business park expands and adds new distributors, approximately $600 million in investment and subsequent tax revenue will come to St. Peters.
The 850-acre business park is visible from Highway 370 in St. Charles County. It may not seem like much, but it’s home to hundreds of millions of dollars of investment, infrastructure, and salaries.
Scott Drachnik, President and CEO of the St. Charles County Economic Council, said: “St. Peters was in the right place at the right time with the largest pad-ready industrial site in all of Missouri at the time.”
In 2001, as part of the city’s master plan, St. Peters purchased the land, invested in needed utilities, and finally sold the land to a developer in 2006 for $49.6 million. At the time, he was thought to be a $350 million investment, according to a city spokesperson. However, this business currently has $430 million in investment in his park, with another $170 million expected over the next 18 months.
“People who know nothing about the industry probably don’t know that there are 10,000 great jobs in one place just by driving by,” says Drachnik.
The park has 12 buildings, including warehouses for Amazon and Fed-Ex, which could affect the speed at which local consumers receive parcels, he said.
The park’s newest tenant is Medline, one of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical wholesalers. Before the official opening this summer, Medline invested his $75 million in land, construction and equipment. The 800,000-square-foot distribution center will employ his 150 people, and in his first year he expects to fulfill $250 million in orders.
“I think we’re competing at the Midwest level. We all want them in the middle of the country,” Drachnik said. “So our goal is not to move anything out of St. Louis or Granite City.”
The millions of dollars in tax revenue generated across the business parks will help provide better schools, parks, police and fire services.
“That tax burden will not be borne by sales tax or local housing, but by big companies growing like crazy,” he said.
The city expects the business park to be 80% full by mid-2024, adding 1.7 million square feet of distribution center space over the next 18 months.
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