Construction is set to begin this fall in Venice on a variety of development projects 鈥� including a grocery store and health care clinic 鈥� to help revitalize the community.
The goal of the effort is simple: bring essential services and business to the town of about 1,500, said Ed Hightower, a former Edwardsville school superintendent and Big Ten basketball referee who鈥檚 leading the endeavor and financing the grocery store.
鈥淭hese are the essential things that you would say that people need in order to survive,鈥� Hightower said. 鈥淭hese are things that low-income communities are struggling with every day.鈥�
Hightower said he became involved in the project after longtime Mayor Tyrone Echols, who was first elected to lead the historically Black town in 1979, asked him to help. Echols describes the projects as 鈥渁 dream come true鈥� for Venice.
鈥淚t puts a lifeblood into a community that was relatively stagnant,鈥� Echols said.
After a second set of projects is complete, Hightower and Echols believe the economic development at the center of Venice will spur growth there and in the surrounding communities of Brooklyn and Madison, which have also fallen on hard times.
They believe Venice鈥檚 location 鈥� along Illinois Route 3 and just a few minutes from downtown St. Louis, thanks to the McKinley Bridge 鈥� will make growth possible.
Like many towns along the Mississippi River, Venice has slowly lost population over the years. At its peak in 1960, the town had a population north of 6,000, according to the U.S. census.
Brooklyn, to the south, and Madison, to the north, have similar trends.
The median household income in Venice stands at roughly $34,000, and 38.1% of the town鈥檚 residents live under the poverty line, according to the 2022 of the Census Bureau.
First project already underway
Venice鈥檚 school building was condemned in 2020. Demolition and other site work has already begun on a $26 million pre-K-8 school building, which district leaders said will provide a needed learning environment for the community.
At future development sites, demolition is scheduled for later this year. That will be funded by a $3.1 million grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
The grocery store, which will be built adjacent to city hall and the town鈥檚 library, is needed in the community, Hightower and Echols said.
The closest grocery stores in Illinois are at least four miles away in Granite City, making the community a food desert. According to the , urban communities with a grocery store or supermarket more than one mile away are considered deserts.
鈥淲hen you have a town that probably has quite a few seniors with transportation problems, this can really give it a shot in the arm,鈥� Echols said.
Currently, community leaders are awaiting word from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity regarding their $3.5 million grant application to the Illinois Grocery Initiative program. The budget priority for Gov. J.B. Pritzker allocated $20 million to help seed grocery stores in food deserts in urban or rural parts of the state.
While the city will own the grocery store鈥檚 building, Venice will lease it for free to Hightower, who will be the primary investor.
The health care facility, which will be operated by the Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation based in Sauget, will be built just south of the grocery store.
The new clinic will be built on property formerly owned by the Illinois Department of Transportation. Last December, Pritzker signed that allowed Venice to buy the property from the state agency for $1.
鈥淭his is something that鈥檚 just really much needed in that community,鈥� said state Sen. Chris Belt, D-Swansea, who sponsored the legislation.
A dollar store is the final project in the first phase slated to start construction by the fall.
The next phase of the revitalization project will include the construction of 40 affordable homes just southwest of downtown Venice, a child care center, a career and vocational training center and a new bike trail. A funeral home, owned by a private investor, is also part of the plan.
Hightower said he鈥檚 waiting to hear from the Illinois Housing Development Authority on tax credits to help build the homes. Hightower and officials are also looking into funding opportunities for the vocational center and the child care center.
If all goes as planned, the second phase will be completed by the end of 2026. Hightower said he hopes projects in the first phase will be finished by the end of 2025.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an aggressive plan,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut if you don鈥檛 set milestones and say, 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to adhere to them,鈥� then you don鈥檛 get it done. You continue to procrastinate.鈥�
