EDWARDSVILLE – Amazon’s location into the Gateway Commerce Center appears to have opened doors for more businesses and jobs to come to Madison County.
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Motorists driving by the area off Illinois 255 and the Gateway Commerce Center will now see a new building being worked on and a significant amount of work going on across the way for an additional warehouse structure.
“Amazon is the best thing we have going for us because we have other companies now looking at that location,” Madison County Chairman Alan Dunstan said. “The spec building that is going up was rented out without even opening. We have had companies contacting us about the area. Amazon’s location there has made a big difference.”
In the beginning, it was speculated that Amazon’s addition could help bring as many as 5,000 new jobs to the Gateway Commerce Center area. Now, Dunstan is saying he believes it will be more in the number of 10,000 jobs within a few years.
“It would be tremendous to have that many new jobs here,” Dunstan said.
Dunstan said the influx of jobs would also influence the housing market because those people have to find a place live if they locate here.
“We are hoping to revitalize some of our housing we have in the corridor,” Dunstan said.
U.S. Steel in Granite City remains a large concern for Dunstan with 2,000 jobs being lost to date there. A new caster was put in recently, along with some electrical work at the plant.
“U.S. Steel was a very productive plant and it is sad to see really productive workers laid off,” Dunstan said. “It is no fault of their own. China’s steel is government subsidized. Our steel products here are much better. We want to help U.S. Steel get back to being more productive and profitable and get those people back to work.”
Dunstan and other leaders have been lobbying to change trade laws and make the field more competitive for U.S. Steel companies to compete with China and many others.
“I have been to Washington, D.C., twice to meet with the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission on how the trade laws affect local government,” he said.
If the steel plant came come back together, Dunstan said he believes the region would move full steam ahead.
“This is an exciting time in the culture of Madison County,” he said. “We have rail, air, an interstate system second to none and have a large port. We have everything we need in our location. We are a day’s truck drive away from 50 percent of the population in the United States. We want to become the logistics capital of the country.”
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