State Farm planning prime land sale
State Farm has notified its employees that the company may sell the 100 acres of undeveloped land along Providence Road just north of its 100-acre operations center, a move that could create “shovel-ready” space attractive to corporate site selectors.
“We’ve had discussions with State Farm about the project,” said David Meyer, marketing director for Regional Economic Development Inc. “It’s an excellent location. The site characteristics of that particular piece are very positive for all kinds of uses.”
In economic-development jargon, a shovel-ready site is one upon which a large employer can quickly build after signing a contract, without having to go through annexation or rezoning, Meyer said. Infrastructure, such as sewer, water and electric connections, needs to be close by, and this site fits that requirement, according to city employees.
State Farm purchased the tract prior to building its regional office in 1992, and the land now is one if the city’s most valuable tracts of undeveloped property. The former soybean field was most recently sown with native grasses. Zoned O-1 Office, the property is across the road from Rock Bridge High School, has commercial development on its northern border, and lies north of Southampton Drive and west of the newly completed State Farm Parkway, which carries traffic from Southampton northward to the Nifong Connector.
Company management indicated via e-mail to employees on Jan. 11 that the company does not need the tract and may want to cut the expense of maintenance and taxes on the land. The tract was assessed $6,000 in property taxes in 2007, according to the Boone County assessor’s office, which indicated that the land’s calculated value for tax purposes was determined by its most recent use, which was agricultural.
State Farm says the process of determining what to do with the land has barely begun and that the company may decide to retain the property. No timetable has been established for the process, said Chuck Scherck, manager of corporate properties in State Farm’s Bloomington, Ill., corporate headquarters. He said management has received comments from local employees about possible uses for the property.
“We are just starting an analysis of what might be possible,” Scherck said. “We just wanted our folks to know that there was something going on.”
While REDI has not yet begun to market the property to potential buyers, Meyer said, his organization can list the property on its Web site and pitch it to site selectors upon request. “State Farm is an outstanding employer, and we absolutely want to keep them happy and in town here,” he said.