Oct. 7, 2013

This edition of the Good NewsLink features updates on recent investments in our healthcare, education and entertainment sectors, as well as news about a new hotel project coming to Pontoon Beach. Read on for more information on these and other items that made the news in the past few weeks.

Have a great week!

Ellen

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New St. Joseph's Hospital in Highland was designed to be an inviting place

(St. Louis Post Dispatch, 9/20/13)

Some visitors to the month-old new St. Joseph's Hospital in Highland have compared its lobby to what you might see when entering a new hotel, says Peggy Sebastian, the hospital's president and CEO. The comparison pleases Sebastian, who notes that about a year went into planning the $63 million facility to try to make it attractive and convenient for patients and families. (Read more)

Francois brings Gateway up to speed (St. Louis Business Journal, 9/27/13)

A retired race car driver and the owner of Tamar Development, a builder of infrastructure for housing developments, Francois, 49, bought Gateway in a complex real estate deal after the previous owner, Dover Motorsports Inc., shifted its corporate focus to casinos and gambling. (Read more)

Hotel going up in Pontoon Beach (Alton Telegraph, 10/6/13)

A local developer is building a $7.5 million hotel and restaurant in the village. Larry Manns Properties of East Alton announced that a Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott will be constructed at 270 Commerce Park at the intersection of Illinois Route 111 and Interstate 270. The four-story, 102-room hotel will include a business center with a 1,500-square-foot conference facility, exercise room, and indoor pool and spa. Manns said the development will include a 6,000-square-foot free-standing restaurant and bar. (Read more)

Contegra completes $26 million elementary school in Gillespie (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 10/4/13)

Edwardsville-based Contegra Construction Co. completed the new $26 million Ben-Gil Elementary School in Gillespie, Ill. The single-level, 93,500-square-foot new school has three wings with 47 classrooms, a gym with built-in stage, media center, kitchen, cafeteria, commons area and locker rooms. (Read more)

Belleville may use TIF funds to help develop senior living centers (Belleville News-Democrat, 10/6/13)

The city of Belleville could be giving up to $425,000 in tax increment financing funds to help develop two unrelated senior living centers. Both St. Paul's Home and The Cottages at Cathedral Square will use the incentives to offset demolition costs. The two senior living centers would create a total of 56 full-time jobs and 16 part-time jobs. (Read more)

In Other News

Clean-water quest comes to Alton (Alton Telegraph, 9/17/13)

A Guatemalan guide working with an area organization to bring accessible supplies of clean water to villages in his country saw Tuesday how Illinois American's treatment plant operates. Ruben Dario Gomez Gonzalez, 65, a native of the highlands village Chichicastenango, also is speaking at schools from the Alton area up to Peoria, as well as at Hayner Public Library and other facilities through September. (Read more)

Leadership Council members associated with projects in this issue

Contact Information

Ellen Krohne, Executive Director, Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois

618-692-9745

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