More businessses take a chance on Cape, Jackson industrial parks

Businesses are making their way into Cape Girardeau's and Jackson's business and industrial parks -- from local companies finding ways to grow within the region to national brands expanding their reach.

Between the activity visible from Interstate 55 at the Greater Cape Girardeau Business Park to the recently unveiled speculative building in Jackson, businesses are finding new ways to grow in Southeast Missouri.

"It's really an exciting time, because we're using all the resources that we have to attract people not only to Cape but to Jackson and the surrounding areas," Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce president Brian Gerau said.

Cape Girardeau

Arguably the most noticeable land development for new businesses is the Greater Cape Girardeau Business Park, just off I-55 at LaSalle Avenue.

The land, about 247 acres, was purchased by the city of Cape Girardeau from Southeast Missouri State University for about $6 million.

Since its purchase in 2014, Pepsi MidAmerica built a $3.1 million customer-service center on the property, making it the park's first tenant.

A second tenant has begun work on a new facility there, though it's not clear what it ultimately will be used for. Assistant city manager Molly Hood said the property is owned by Derek and Karla Cornelius.

"They purchased about 14 acres from us last year," Hood said.

Derek Cornelius owns Si03, which is a protein powder and dietary supplement manufacturer, according to its website. A representative for Cornelius said while the Corneliuses own the property, the forthcoming facility is unaffiliated with Si03.

The representative would not reveal the nature of the business planned for the facility.

As for the remaining acreage, John Mehner, president of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce, said while there is nothing at this time to announce, there is interest in the location.

"We have one current prospect looking in the south side of the park," Mehner said, and indicated the city has prospects on the corners of LaSalle and Business Park Road.

Nash Road

The Nash Road Industrial Park on the extreme south end of Cape Girardeau continues to grow to the west, while other businesses ponder opportunities to the east.

"The west side has had the most activity lately, but we're working on two prospects on the east side we can't announce yet," Mehner said.

On the east side of the interstate, beyond the official lines of the industrial park Bloomfield Road, Landscape is preparing to build a new facility. Down the road, Reed's Metals recently opened.

Among the most recent additions to the industrial park is Richardson Tire, which opened in June. Mehner said the family-owned business occupies one of the park's original speculative buildings.

Don Richardson, co-owner of Richardson Tire, said the building offers plenty of room for it to work on a variety of vehicles -- from semi-trucks and mining trucks to pickups and small cars. While it still is working on the property's frontage, Richardson said it is fully operational and company officials are happy with its new location.

Another new addition to the Nash Road Industrial Park is the 14,000-square-foot facility for Ole Hickory Pits.

"We got the first building up in the fall of last year," owner David Knight said.

It now is working on a 14,000-square-foot addition.

Only a small portion of operations has moved to the new facility, and Knight said he doesn't anticipate a big move anytime soon.

"It's going to be a gradual process. Rather than get too carried away, we'll just do it a step at a time," Knight said. "It could take several years."

Other new additions to the industrial park include Buchheit's 2015 purchase of the old PolyOne facility. The 54,000-square-foot facility was meant to enhance the company's capabilities and expand its warehousing footprint, according to a news release from Buchheit Logistics.

The company now has more than 500,000 square feet of warehouse space in Southeast Missouri and 475,000 square feet in eastern Pennsylvania.

In the past, the property on Nash Road has been difficult to market to businesses outside the region. Large companies, intrigued by the location and area's workforce, couldn't overcome concerns about the property's position in a floodplain, though it is protected by a levee. The potential of flooding was reportedly why Do it Best Corp. relocated in 2012 after 40 years in the location.

Despite that fear, Mehner said local businesses don't have the same concerns. The north side of Nash Road, he said, is not in a flood plain, while the south side is in a 100-year levee.

So the chamber continues to market the area, and local businesses continue to move in because "people are not afraid of it," Mehner said. "They know that the levee holds up. There's never been any issues with the levee down there, and the regional people don't have any concerns."

Building on the property, too, can be more expensive because the floodplain must be taken into consideration. This has not been a deterrent, either, and construction in the area is evidence of that, Mehner said.

Jackson

A new 50,000-square-foot speculative building is the latest addition to the Jackson Industrial Development Company Industrial Park on Route PP.

The park itself is full, with businesses such as Coca-Cola, Signature Packaging, American Railcar Industries, B&B Door and Midwest Sterilization, Gerau said.

"You really have a variety of businesses along that PP corridor," Gerau said. "It's pretty diverse."

So the Jackson Industrial Development Company, with aid from financial and economic development partners, built a speculative building to make room for growth.

"Our goal with our speculative building was to build it to recruit jobs in the area. But we also wanted to have that resource here in case one of our existing businesses wanted to expand," Gerau said.

Having it next to the industrial park was part of the game plan.

"It's a very good problem to have," Gerau said. "You never want to have any vacant buildings, but if someone looks at the area and you don't have any vacancy, you don't have the tools of attraction to draw them in."

Gerau said the focus is to find a tenant.

Another business park within Jackson is on U.S. 61. Occupied by relatively new facilities for Mondi and Liberty Utility, there are more properties available between them.

It has great access to the highway, Gerau said, but at this point there are no plans to build there. The focus, for now, is on the speculative building.

"It's exciting. ... There's stuff going up right and left," Gerau said of the activities throughout the Cape Girardeau and Jackson business and industrial parks. "It's always a good thing to see construction and multiple projects going on at the same time. It means industry is doing well here."

bbrown@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

Interstate 55 and LaSalle Avenue, Cape Girardeau, MO

4901 Nash Road, Cape Girardeau, MO

4735 Nash Road, Cape Girardeau, MO

2550 Industrial Lane, Jackson, MO

State Route PP, Jackson MO