EAST PRAIRIE TO MARKET INDUSTRIAL PARK

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- The new East Prairie Industrial Park Subdivision is ready to start its marketing phase.

The 50-acre-plus facility on Highway BB, near East Prairie has water, sewer and power, thanks to a Department of Agriculture grant for rural development.

"And now we're an Ameren-UE InSite location," said Kathie Simpkins, East Prairie city administrator.

The new park became only the second certified Ameren-UE InSite in Missouri during ceremonies held at the park Tuesday.

The AmerenUE program is an industrial development project aimed at attracting new employers and economic growth to an area by providing a site that already has building plans to fit new and expanding companies.

Simpkins said the certification gives the city a sharp, competitive edge as it works to attract new employers.

"The InSite program will give East Prairie additional exposure," said Simpkins, "and having the InSite label will identify the park as a first-class industrial development."

This is the second industrial park for East Prairie, which also has a 10-acre park with a vacant 60,000-square-foot building a few miles away.

Brochures, designed by the city and AmerenUE, describe the parks and will be available for mailings soon.

"We'll be sending out a number of the brochures to companies which may be interested in the local site," said Simpkins.

InSite in Illinois

The AmerenUE InSite program was first introduced in Illinois in 1997, and today the state has more than 20 programs, including two at Carbondale and one at Herrin in Southern Illinois.

The Southeast Missouri Port between Cape Girardeau and Scott City was the first InSite in Missouri.

"But we're looking at four other Missouri sites, including three more in the Southeast Missouri area," said Glen "Skip" Smallwood Jr., business development executive for AmerenUE.

The industrial development project provides a "ready-to-go site, with ready-to-go building plans," explained Smallwood.

AmerenUE provides a prospect with blueprints, building specifications and an architect's color rendering for a 60,000-square-foot industrial building that can be expanded to 200,000 square feet. The building can also be redrawn or customized to fit a client's special building needs.

The program, said Smallwood, is designed to give an area, in this case the industrial park, an edge as it works to attract new industry.

AmerenUE does not construct the building. The plans are turned over to the prospect, and the prospect can make changes.

"With various site preparation and permit steps complete in advance, the AmerenUE InSite will make it possible to accelerate the construction process," said Mike Kearney, manager of economic development for AmerenUE. "We just want to provide qualifying communities with new development resources that can assist their obtaining new businesses, industry expansions and attraction efforts."

Continued development is an important part of a community's comprehensive plan, said East Prairie Mayor Lonnie L. Thurmon.

"Participating in the AmerenUE program will be a positive factor in helping us to meet our main objectives in that plan," Thurmon said.