Logistics
Park Galesburg: The infomercial
By
Mike Kroll
The Zephyr,
Galesburg
The Sanderson Room of the Galesburg Public Library was
surprisingly packed as representatives of the Galesburg Regional Economic
Development Association joined by Jim Ford of developer CenterPoint Properties
gave a public presentation on the status of the Galesburg Logistics Park and
area economic development efforts in general. Holding the meeting at 9am on a
Wednesday seemed like a curious time if GREDA was really looking for public
interaction but a wide cross-spectrum of people did turn out and stayed for the
two-hour meeting. While no one thought to bring pom-poms the meeting was
designed to put GREDAs best foot forward in a community where many have seen
little tangible results for a sizable investment of scarce local resources.
Former GREDA chairman Jon Polillo perhaps best summed
up the meeting when he said toward the end, ÒWe've been wrong for years in not
reporting more to the public about our various activities and our vision as we
have today.Ó This comment was made shortly after two members of the audience,
including newly elected Galesburg Alderman Ken Goad made statements welcoming
the new-found openness to discuss economic development efforts within a public
forum.
The meeting was to be a combination of presentations
from GREDA and Mr. Ford about the development of the logistics park and the
track record of CenterPoint in Illinois economic development projects followed
by a brief panel discussion and audience questions. The presentations,
particularly in regard to GREDA's history, ended up going much longer than
necessary but the star was clearly Ford. A business development manager for
CenterPoint, Ford is responsible for that firms marketing and development of
the logistics park. His contribution was significant not only because he was an
outsider ratifying the direction chosen by the local group but because his firm
is reportedly making a huge financial commitment to the success of the project.
Asked about just what the best-case scenario would be
for the logistics park Ford emphasized the railroad potential of Galesburg and
the creation of a boutique intermodal facility joined by four to five million
square feet of distribution warehouse buildings and the potential to create
upwards of 1,300 jobs locally. This would not include the truckers who would
carry cargo away from these warehouses. All-in-all Ford said he sees this as a
$200 million-plus investment by CenterPoint into the Galesburg area.
Polillo, who himself manages the local Dick Blick
distribution center, lamented the decline in American manufacturing jobs but
hailed logistics and distribution as the next biggest opportunities for
communities like Galesburg to rebuild their economy. GREDA president Greg
Mangieri pointed out the geographically ideal location of Galesburg from the
perspective of rail-based distribution. ÒGalesburg literally sits astride the
intersection of nearly every major railroad in the United States as they
approach Chicago. We can position ourselves as a lower cost and less congested
secondary alternative to the metropolitan Chicago area for intermodal
shippers.Ó
Mayor Gary Smith emphasized the importance of China as
a source of low-cost manufactured goods and how Galesburg is building
relationships there that may eventually lead to Chinese investment here or
relationships with local businesses who import Chinese goods to be packaged and
shipped across the U.S. ÒThe
Chinese government is committed to following the Japanese model of
international economic development. First you market your cheaper goods
overseas, then you put into place a distribution network and finally you ship
components and sub-assemblies for final assembly in U.S. plants.Ó Smith sees
Galesburg at the point of affording Chinese investors a convenient place to
build a distribution network, particularly once a foreign free-trade zone is
established at the logistics park.
The audience sat quietly and politely throughout the
presentations and asked friendly and respectful questions. GREDA officials
really couldn't have asked for a better community reaction. One question asked
toward the end of the session by Bob Seibert concerned what other economic
development directions GREDA was pursuing beside the logistics park and
intermodal railroad facility. Mangieri responded that because Galesburg sits in
the middle of America's prime farmland he sees alternative energy projects like
ethanol and biodiesel as potential opportunities for Galesburg. Pollilo added
that GREDA continues to welcome inquiries regarding manufacturing
opportunities.
What was notably missing was any commitment of
resources toward non-blue collar jobs or the serious nurturing of local
entrepreneurs. It is clear that the GREDA strategy remains focused on outsiders
being enticed to come to Galesburg's economic development rescue. The problem
is this ignores the three decades of non-success as the result of following
this exact strategy. Somehow a method must be found that yields greater results
from our investment in economic development
If America manufacturing is indeed dead our country is
facing real problems in the not too distant future but the GREDA leaders are
clearly correct when they note that manufacturers on the move are leaving the
U.S. The future of this region seems to rest upon the creation of a more
diverse economic base that includes plenty of white-collar as well as
blue-collar jobs that are somehow geographically tied to this area and
therefore less likely to be seduced away. The logistics park may well be one
component in the rebuilding of the area economy and perhaps a necessary
component but it clearly isn't sufficient in and of itself to assure success.
The vision of our economic development leaders remains too narrowly focused.
7/19/07