Walmart hits major milestone

STERLING – The Walmart Distribution Center has filled a gap left by the defunct Northwestern Steel and Wire.

The west side warehouse created about 800 jobs 5 years ago, after 1,475 jobs were lost when the mill closed in 2001.

“You took a piece of farmland and turned it into reality,” said Betty Steinert, economic development director for Whiteside County.

Steinert helped lure the distribution center to the Sauk Valley. The facility, 23769 Mathew Road, opened its doors on April 12, 2006, after a 2-year construction project.

Seeing it rise from the ground remains a vivid memory for Steinert.

“It was very exciting, especially after what we’d been through with Northwestern Steel and Wire,” she said.

The facility represents an $80 million investment, Steinert said. Citing a 2002 analysis by the Rural Economic Technical Assistance Center at Western Illinois University, she said the center was expected to pump $130 million into the economy,

Steinert brokered the 2003 deal between Walmart and former property owner Raymond Pierson for the 145-acre parcel near Interstate 88, where the center stands.

Texas-based site selector Carter and Burgess tapped the site.

“The fewer driveways between them and the interstate, the better,” Steinert said.

Ellisville, Mo.-based Walton Construction (no connection to Walmart) built the 1 million-square-foot facility. Construction couldn’t happen quickly enough for Steinert.

“It seemed like forever before they got started,” she said.

Enterprise zone benefits enticed Walmart to locate there. The Illinois Enterprise Zone Act, signed into law in 1982, created the Enterprise Zone Program.

Depending on how many jobs are created, businesses in an enterprise zone can be eligible for a utility tax exemption or tax credits.

Walmart applied for Whiteside County Enterprise Zone benefits in December 2003, and construction began in early 2004, Steinert said.

The distribution center almost ended up in Lee County.

“Dixon was their first choice,” Dixon Mayor Jim Burke said.

Burke, then acting solely as a real estate agent, nearly sealed the deal for 100 acres of farmland, west of D&D Travel Plaza. The property owner’s personal issues torpedoed the arrangement, Burke said.

Despite losing the center, Burke acknowledged the value to the region.

“I’m certainly very supportive that it went to Whiteside County,” he said. “In view of plant closures, it’s kind of nice to have a company that’s not going to go away.”

The distribution center, Burke said, serves a 325-mile radius, which means the development of Chicagoland Walmart stores could sustain stable employment in the Sauk Valley.

“It’s a very positive thing in this area,” he said.

Sterling City Manager Scott Shumard concurred. After all, it’s the largest employer that has come to the Sauk Valley since the mill closed 10 years ago.

Shumard pondered the city’s fate without the distribution center.

“It would be a little scary to think about where the community would be without the jobs,” he said.

Shumard said those jobs helped to keep people in their homes and contribute to the economy. The distribution center, he said, also has spurred business development – such as Hawkeye Trucking.

Robert Reyna, human resources director at the distribution center, said more than 800 people work at the facility. Reyna also said the distribution center created about 175 third-party trucking company jobs.

When not working, Shumard said, distribution center employees have immersed themselves in community service. For example, they helped refurbish the Imagination Station playground and rehabbed a home, among other activities.

“They’ve been good community citizens,” Shumard said.

The distribution center donated more than $310,000 in food to local food banks in 2010, according to Reyna. Area schools and nonprofit organizations received $75,000 in donations, while employees donated more than 2,000 volunteer hours.

Outgoing Rock Falls City Administrator Richard Downey also commended Walmart for its commitment to community service. Downey said the distribution center has helped restore some employment stability to the Sauk Valley.