Talks are underway for the City of Effingham to help with construction of a new roadway as part of a restaurant development off Keller Drive. No word on which restaurant is moving in yet, but according to Economic Development Director Todd Hull it’s one the city has been pursuing for a while. “Think it’s probably one of the first projects that Mr. Arndt and I worked on when he first came to the city,” Hull said. “We’ve been chasing them ever since.”
According to Hull, the over 3,000 square foot restaurant will be located in the lot behind Panda Express. The new road will provide access to two lots, one will hold the new restaurant, while the other will be available for development. The lot is owned by Wortman Properties, Inc. Hull said, that if approved, the city would be providing some financial support for the project. “The city’s role really is just assisting the developer with the cost of putting the new roadway in,” Hull stated.
Wortman Properties will front the cost for the new road, but will be reimbursed by the city using sale tax revenue from the business district after a fifteen year period up to $74,400.
Lisa Wortman, of Wortman Properties, Inc. addressed the City Council on Tuesday about the project. “We’re very excited about what this project can do for that development out there,” said Wortman. According to her, the road project will provide clearer property lines and give any future developments an actual street. “We’ve kind of cleaned up a bunch of messes from lots of years and I think that this is probably just the final step that cleans it all up.” Hull agreed that the project would “clean up” the area.
With construction set for this spring, Hull suspects that the company will reveal the name of the restaurant soon.
City Economic Development Director Todd Hull discusses the road/restaurant project.