Brisk commercial activity in Perryville

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Vehicles exiting Interstate 55 and heading east into Perryville confront a lot of new commercial activity. The same holds true for vehicles exiting the interstate and heading west. But in this case, west is not best -- east is.

"Most of the recent commercial activity is along Highway 51, which is also called Perryville Boulevard and sometimes the Bypass," said Larry Tucker, executive director of the Perry County Industrial Development Authority. "There are many new businesses east of the interstate and before you get into the downtown area."

The first wing of Crossroads Village recently opened, and the second wing of the 27,000-square-foot open-air mall is under construction. Businesses that quickly moved into the mall are Coldwell Banker Realty, Verizon Wireless (owned by Cape Girardeau-based Johnson Communications), The Portrait Studio and Pizza Inn.

Also along Highway 51 is Perry's Diner, which looks like a 1950s drive-in diner. Tucker said the diner is really a former Denny's restaurant building brought in two sections from O'Fallon last fall. After renovation, Perry's Diner opened in March. It's owned by Charles Brown, who develops property in that area of the city.

Hoeckele's Bakery, which has been on The Square in downtown Perryville for 80 years, has purchased property along Highway 51 and plans to relocate into a large, new building.

On the west side of I-55, there is a new restaurant called Chinese Buffet, and another eatery called Skinny's Restaurant.

"Skinny's is on the scale of a Waffle House or a Huddle House," said Tucker. "It's a Texas-based company that's opening a lot of these in Missouri and Arkansas. The floor plan and menu are similar to what you'll find at Waffle or Huddle House."

Buchheit recently opened a rental equipment business in the area that also includes a Wal-Mart Supercenter, Super 8 Motel, Comfort Inn, Keller Motors and a large service center/convenience store.

In the city's industrial park, east of the interstate and north of Highway 51, plans are in the making for a 12,000-square-foot speculative building.

"We want to be able to subdivide this building into maybe 3,000-square-foot sections and pitch them to prospective light-industrial users," said Tucker. "We want to be able to grow some of the current home-based businesses that are operating out of garages or basements, and help people who need to step up to that next level of growth."

Tucker said Perry County has low unemployment, largely due to major employers such as TG Missouri and Gilster-Mary Lee. TG Missouri, which employs 1,200, makes parts and accessories for Toyota, and Gilster-Mary Lee, which has 1,400 workers, is in the cereals and packaging business.

"Our most recent reports from TG Missouri and Gilster-Mary Lee say half or more of their employees commute from contiguous counties and three counties across the river in Illinois," said Tucker, adding that a St. Louis developer recently broke ground for two rows of townhouses behind Crossroads Village, the new open-air mall along Highway 51. "We think new housing will help us grow the city's population."

Tucker also said there are plans to build a large soccer park along Highway 51.