" Let's see, CVS is a Drugstore and Midas sells tires and mufflers, yep, that's a real shot in the arm for a retail area. "

" This will be a shot in the arm for downtown only if other retail stores open up near by. Sales Tax income for the city should change by this move. But what it will do is move more of the local traffic toward downtown and less toward the mall/walmart. A Drug store closer to where people live what a great idea. Thank you for more conveniences toward the west side of town. "

" Hey, quit complaining, you guys got a new Dollar General store a while back. "

" A Drug store closer to where people live what a great idea.

You mean like The Medicice Shoppe right across the street that's been there for about 15 (or more) years.

As far as Dollar General Stores go, they do very well when the economy is in the tank. "

" Better news than stores closing if ya ask me! But who's complaining right; wait you all were! "

" What new stores, you mean CVS and Midas, correct me if I'm wrong, but they're already here, were not getting anything new. And how far is Midas moving?, half a block? "

" If they are so interested in moving cvs to downtown, Why don't they locate it where the old meadow gold plant was or Young radiator instead of tearing down a historic piece of the downtown? "

" medic57 wrote on Dec 7, 2008 9:50 PM:
"As far as Dollar General Stores go, they do very well when the economy is in the tank. "

Just as a point of reference and ONLY because the economy is reported as being down, Dollar General and Family Dollar are two of the fastest growing retailers in the US. This has been the case for a number of years and prior to the most recent economy panic. "

" popeye01

Sorry, to use Youngs Radiator, first, they would have to figure out just who owns the building, then they would have to dig up the contaminated soil down to a depth of about 9 feet. "

" Who own the property on the NE corner of the block?
Why doesn't CVS purchase it and build their new building on the east half of the block and leave Midas where it is?
That seems to make a little more sense than moving a business (Midas) a half block over. "

" As for Young Radiator,...isn't the ownership in the city/county records?

If earth has to be replaced 9 feet deep, and the factory has been closed 20? plus years, why wasn't it done a long time ago? The city ought to put a lien on the property...surely that land is leaching to other properties surrounding it. If no one knows who owns it, then apparently no taxes are being paid on the property. Another reason for a lien.
So all is said, the done part is for Mattoon to take ownership, clean up the land and sell it at no profit to new businesses. "

" Is there any TIF Money or related property tax abatements going to these projects? This leaves another vacant building, and demolishes a city block. The existing Midas building isn't very old, these kind of chess games with no actual net gain, look better on paper than they do in reality. Count on the Medicine Shoppe being forced out. So that ultimately yeilds a net loss.

In a county that couldn't get a surgicenter for lack of need, pushing out the little guy by moving competition across the street, seems to sit easier on the pallet if someone of self imposed importance isn't opposed to it.

That money pit of Hoots, should have been razed, years ago. Will the proposed layout of this new building for existing businesses, allow for the rest of the block to be developed in a feasable maximum potential of use. Its likely with the complete demolition of the block, there must be some existing plan for the rest of the lots, to keep someone from painting future development into a corner.

It is good TIF is thriving and bringing the bountiful growth this city has seen since its inception. Schools are thriving, city infrastructure is keeping pace and being maintained, the grass in Mattoon is green and kept at the required height. Far removed from the city a few miles to the east, that just hit the lowest in the country on income. Or thats the story our city financial/legal liason continually paints.

When will this paper, stop with the cheerleading, and actually do its job in informing the citizens. Investigate the know issues with TIF in Illinois, report them, and compare actual data, relavent to us with the rhetoric released statements provided to represent the city in its chosen tools of development.

Charleston had to wait for the US census bureau to report something they should have been readily on top of, living in the midst of it. Now they have excuses and dismiss the report. Mattoon is not far removed from Charlestons plight. In fact our guidance has been of a more inept nature, so don't be terribly surprized when results from 2010 census results reflect a slightly different story than has been regurgitated in these pages.

Begin to be proactive, and make a difference, or be a carnage correspondent, in the trenches but removed from plight of the people facing the brunt of these misguided actions.

If the truth is examined from both sides, and things are as has been reported, in regurgitated press releases, then we won't be scratching our heads in a few years, wondering how this went on so long, and no one had the curiosity to verify things were as stated. Curiosity killed the cat, not the newspaper. A news paper that operates without the slightest honest curiosity about the things going on in its coverage area, is going to have the circulation and ad revenue, to reflect that. Keep up the propaganda news letter, I hope the benevolent benefactors remember ya all at the holidays, and in their wills. Until some journalism pops up in these pages, its all just an op ed publication, with an occasional school lunch menu. Perhaps the new CVS midas, will up their ad purchases, for this plug of praise. Will it be enough to make up for whatever the medicine shoppe pays, for theirs and is that trade off good for business over all. Eventually this ignoring relavent facts is going to start crimping your bottom line, advertizing dollars. TIF could wind up closing your little offices as a result.

Studies reflect actual growth when it comes to TIF VS non TIF. Perhaps there are promises of matching dollars from benefactors, to make up for any shortfalls that result from these directions. I tend to doubt it. If you go under, they may just start up a news letter, and bulk mail it.

TIF was a Chicago inspired Illinois law. More than 1 billion a year is kept out of state coffers, in its various forms. Half of that or more is kept in the chicago area, the rest is scattered through the rest of the state. Illinois ignores many safeguards for TIF other states have enacted. Be informed, and be relavent to these issues, or chance being a casualty of long know results of misuse of this in this state. Eventually your complacency may rightfully cause the elimination of your jobs. If your not looking at all sides of the stories you run, and providing an informative view to the public, as much as I hate to see anyone loose their jobs, best of luck with any future endeavors, but reporting the news might not be your cup of tea. "

" cd wrote on Dec 11, 2008 8:13 PM:
" As for Young Radiator,...isn't the ownership in the city/county records?

If earth has to be replaced 9 feet deep, and the factory has been closed 20? plus years, why wasn't it done a long time ago? The city ought to put a lien on the property...surely that land is leaching to other properties surrounding it. If no one knows who owns it, then apparently no taxes are being paid on the property. Another reason for a lien.
So all is said, the done part is for Mattoon to take ownership, clean up the land and sell it at no profit to new businesses.

The original company went bankrupt, and the costs to from cleaning the mercury in the soil would be astronomical. Since the company that did own it went bankrupt and no longer exists there is no one to sue to make clean it up. This is what I have always been told, but I could be wrong. "

" Look at the old Clarks Foundry on the northern end of 12th street. If thet old factory were just south of Wal-Mart, the people in Crestview would be screameing bloody murder. "

" The original company went bankrupt..

---

No jr, they were bought out. "

" Besides, you don't have to go bankrupct to protect youeself, look at Mr. McGrath and Western Lion Landfill. And he sits in a Half Million Dollar house in his wifes name in a Sub-Division that she owns. "

" Besides, Mattoon doesn't want it cleaned up, where else would they store all their crap and junk? "

" Yes, and we paid for the mess he made at his dump awhile back. "

" Young Radiator is owned by Dennis Ballinger of Decatur. The city has been waiting for the EPA to issue a "no further remediation" letter so the site can be developed (possibly by the city). That letter was issued 9/9/08.

The contamination is contained by an underground barrier placed around the site in 2003. The site is clear for development as long as the ground is covered with concrete to contain the contamination (no grass areas).

Progress on this site is slowly inching forward, but the City needs reminded this is a top concern for the citizens. The site has been abandoned for 22 years. GET THIS SITE CLEANED UP. "

" I just love the word containment.

It rarely works for anything. "

" Chris 2.0

Well Said!!
Put the CVS where Meadow Gold is and use young's as a parking lot.
as a side note it is interesting that thre has been no mention of the nfr letter. Hmmm? "

" Isnt the new postal place built where Meadow Gold was ??? "

" I Care

the post office is between 14th and 15th street, west of 14th. Meadow Gold/Youngs is east of 14th. Meadow Gold was on the north east corner of 14th and Broadway "

" no the 118 club was at the location the post office is at now.and i'm all for it ,i'm tired of everything being put on the outskirts of town.thank you ,47 years true mattooner "

" I believe CVS wants access to Charleston Ave. because of the high traffic count. That is why they weren't interested in the Central School site. "

" 47 years true mattooner


That's for sure, since you knew that the 118 Club was where the post office is now. "

" LMAOOO NO NOT the post office. There is a building next to goodyear that send postal packages "

" Chris 2.0 wrote...I believe CVS wants access to Charleston Ave. because of the high traffic count.

This is about the smartest thing written on this blog. CVS knows better than to throw money away on a dead end street like Broadway that is by-passed by Routes 16,45 and 121. Too bad Mattoon can't figure that out too and try to encourage local business to locate where there is a "high traffic count". The history of a train station is not going to bring the traffic necessary to support the businesses there. The only historic thing about Downtown Broadway is it's historic record of failure. Wider street, narrow street, fancy sidewalks, parking meters, no parking meters, new false fronts, clean up a burned out building and make a parking lot, sell a parking lot, lease the same parking lot, close the parking lot, buy the parking lot, clean up the buildings when they fall down, and every ten or twenty years dump money down the same hole and expect different results. No traffic,,,,,,,,no business. What a stupid waste. "

" INVICTA wrote on Dec 15, 2008 10:52 AM:
....Wider street, narrow street, fancy sidewalks, parking meters, no parking meters, new false fronts, clean up a burned out building and make a parking lot, sell a parking lot, lease the same parking lot, close the parking lot, buy the parking lot, clean up the buildings .....

And a partridge in a pear tree "

" INVICTA is completely right, sorry folks, downtown died when the mall came in, not Wal-Mart or the East side shopping and it will never return to what is was. It really is that simple, and no amount of money will change that. The problem started in about 1972 when almost every viable business downtown moved to the Cross County Mall. As far as CVS wanting to be at 13th and Charleston, the City might as well put up a 4 way light there too, otherwise people will be trying to turn left onto Charleston Ave. "

" Moving 6 jobs to another location, and moving maybe another 6-8 jobs to another location is not growth.

The only income will come to the workers building the buildings.

Then again I could be right. "

" Hey Danny Boy

CVS will have a bigger store, they will probably hire at least 2 more people. "

" When that was Oscos tnhey was leasing that building where they was at. The same people that owned that building also owned the building that housed Walmart in charleston so I am guess that Cvs wants out of the lease or is being made to leave. "