Last fall Nussbaum Transportation opened a new $5.5 million facility in north Normal and grew by about 35 percent, expanding the company by about 80 jobs.
However, it wasn’t an overnight phenomenon. Nussbaum’s growth took three years.
Economic developers in McLean County are working to help businesses like Nussbaum succeed while also attracting new businesses to the area. With the recession behind them, officials are optimistic about the county’s growth potential and see strengths and opportunities for retail and business growth.
Nussbaum, along with the Wirtz Beverage distribution center in Lexington and a new Hy-Vee grocery in Bloomington are among the recent wins.
“Over the years Bloomington-Normal has been a great place to locate a transportation business, being near Interstates 55, 39 and 74. That has allowed us to serve our manufacturing base; a lot of them are based in the Midwest,” said Nussbaum CEO Brent Nussbaum, of the business that began in 1945.
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Logistics and warehousing businesses, including Nussbaum, are among five key industries with growth potential right now, said Ken Springer, vice president of the Bloomington-Normal Area Economic Development Council. Other targeted sectors include financial services; information technology; agriculture and agribusiness; and education and training.
The EDC’s five-year goal is to add 1,500 jobs and bring in about $150 million in capital investments — everything from additional equipment to new infrastructure or an expanded parking lot, Springer said. The effort is in its third year.
He wasn’t sure how far along the agency was in meeting its goal, but said “we’re right about where we need to be and we’re pretty comfortable where we are.”
All across the board
There was not a lot of interest last year from companies considering Bloomington-Normal as a potential site for growth, Springer said. In the first three quarters of 2013, the EDC received only 10 requests for proposals, he said. But by the fourth quarter, interest spiked and it received an additional 10 inquiries.
Springer said there was no general pattern among the companies wanting information, and they ranged from manufacturing, to offices and agriculture-based businesses.
“That entails small and big companies in any type of industry you could imagine,” he said. “It’s all across the board.”
Springer declined to say how many companies the EDC is currently pursuing.
“A lot of times we don’t know what the companies are. A lot of times when a company is looking they’re doing a multi-state search, maybe looking at 30 states. They may get RFPs from 200 different communities. For every 100 of those we might get to the next stage of 10 of them. The timing depends on the project, it could be really quick, a few days, or we have six months of sitting around.”
Careful growth
Nussbaum Transportation didn’t need to seek proposals from other communities, though. It knew it wanted to stay in the area.
In 2012 and 2013, the business built a new corporate office and a maintenance facility on 20 acres near U.S. 51 and Ziebarth Road. The 15,000-square-foot office opened in October, three months after the 20,000 square-foot maintenance facility.
The McLean County enterprise zone was expanded to accommodate the expansion. The enterprise zone status means that the companies receive a sales tax exemption on building materials bought from Illinois vendors.
“The EDC was instrumental in expanding the enterprise zone from north Normal to Hudson so that was a part of our desire to stay in the area,” Nussbaum said. Companies that locate in an enterprise zone might save 3 percent on their overall project cost, Springer said.
Nussbaum outgrew its former facility, 2200 N. Main St., Normal, and the new buildings gave the company 40 percent more space, Nussbaum said.
“Manufacturing has picked back up in the U.S. We’ve certainly seen evidence of that. We like to say that we are almost extremely busy. The manufacturing base is doing well right now and we’ve had a lot of opportunities to grow with our customers as well as add new ones,” Nussbaum said.
The new facilities will serve about 300 employees and drivers, up 35 percent from 220 workers just three years ago.
Despite the rapid growth, Nussbaum said they don’t see that continuing.
“We want to expand and grow carefully. We’ve grown a lot in the last few years and it’s not our desire to continue to grow at that speed,” Nussbaum said.
Infinite competition
Growth of existing businesses is part of the EDC’s mission, but in recent years the organization has put more focus on the tougher task of attracting new employers, Springer said.
“It takes a lot of time and effort. The success rate for attraction is really low. You could have 100 meetings with different companies and from that maybe 10 are interested and maybe one will pull the trigger.
“It’s not a short-term deal. We don’t pick up the phone and five months later have a building. These are relationships that take years,” he said. “The list of communities we compete with is almost infinite.”
Last year, the EDC established a tax abatement program for businesses interested in locating here.
To be eligible for the program, businesses must create or retain 50 or more jobs and increase the property tax base by at least $5 million or sign at least a five-year lease with an annual value of at least $600,000.
“The bottom line is that any economic development project is an impact on the community and the easiest way to qualify that is jobs. Employment opportunities, ways for our residents to earn a paycheck and upward mobility are all critical things to a thriving community,” Springer said.
Retail is also part of what helps a community thrive.
In Bloomington, the city has identified three potential growth areas: automotive dealerships, supermarkets and auto parts and tire stores, said Bloomington Economic Development Coordinator Justine Robinson.
The most recent feather in its cap is a new Hy-Vee grocery store at the site of the long-vacant former K’s Merchandise building at 1407 N. Veterans Parkway.
Hy-Vee, based in Iowa, will have up to 600 employees, when it opens next year.
Robinson said the quest to lure the grocery began during a retail industry conference in Las Vegas last May that Robinson and Bloomington City Manager David Hales attended.
“I think residents want a variety of options. I think Hy-Vee will enter the market and offer a different experience,” Robinson said.
With the Lakewood Plaza vacancy filled, the city will turn its attention to other spaces, including Morrissey Crossing shopping center on the city’s southeast side, and the Parkway Village development at the corner of Veterans Parkway and Mercer Avenue.
$8M Wirtz win
Meanwhile, to the north in Lexington, a new $8 million Wirtz Beverage distribution center was another win for the area, Springer said. Initially the company looked at space in Bloomington, but ultimately chose Lexington because the town offered strong incentive package.
The proximity to three interstates was a large factor in the company’s decision to choose McLean County, said Julia Sznewajs, spokeswoman for Wirtz Beverage.
The 50,000 square-foot warehouse and office will serve as the hub for the company’s area sales force. The distribution center, on 14 acres, will serve the central and southern Illinois regions and is a consolidation of smaller Wirtz facilities throughout the state.
There are trucks already using the new facility, Sznewajs said in early February. About 100 employees will be moved into the building by mid-April.
“We wanted to roll out the red carpet for those guys; we wanted that project badly,” Springer said. “The bottom line is that the project is in McLean County and ultimately it’s a win for the community.”
