Hollister booming with new development

Since Lowe's opened for business in Hollister's South Towne area Feb. 9, 2001, things have been changing for the Taney County town of 3,867.

"That just completely turned our town around when we got this Lowe's," said Vonnie Fuqua-Mathiesen, director of public relations for the city of Hollister and president of the Hollister Area Chamber of Commerce.

"Lowe's just generated a lot more of everything a lot more traffic in the area, a lot more sales tax revenues that, of course, allows our city to do more projects to improve our city for our visitors and our residents."

One area in which growth is evident is construction.

In the first quarter of the current fiscal year, which runs April 1 to March 31, the city nearly surpassed the value of construction for all of fiscal year 2001, according to Trent Bowers, director of planning and development.

In April there was more than $2 million worth of construction permits, and that amount has since topped $3 million and is approaching the $4 million mark.

"As of July 1 of this year, we've issued 70 permits which is up significantly from last year at July 1," Bowers said.

The bulk of the construction value comes from commercial projects, he said, but growth also is up in single-family residences. In April, according to Fuqua-Mathiesen, 25 permits were issued for site-built, single-family dwellings. Nine permits were issued for modular or double-wide manufactured homes, and 11 permits were issued for single-wide manufactured homes to be placed in mobile-home parks.

The increase in all types of construction is a good sign, Bowers said.

"It does signal that we are experiencing some growth, and based on the types of permits we're issuing right now, it's some steady growth across the board," Bowers said. "The values, of course, are dominated by commercial, because a commercial building can cost significantly more than a few single-family houses."

Commercial projects

One notable commercial project, Bowers said, is an 18,000-square-foot medical office building under construction in the South Towne area. The approximately $1.3-million structure is owned by David Booth, Bowers said.

Another is a 10,000 square-foot structure being built in Hollister's Lakes Area Industrial Park, which also is located near the Lowe's store.

Bowers said the building will be used as warehouse space, and it is worth about $400,000. Another structure, a 3,500-square-foot facility, also is being built in the industrial park.

A 3,500-square-foot office building, which is located on the west side of Highway 65 in Hollister, will house Ozarks Area Community Action Corporation offices and Head Start. Bowers said he doesn't yet know the estimated value of that structure.

Another project will bring the golden arches to Hollister.

"We have reviewed a set of plans for a McDonald's, but that is somewhere down the line," Bowers said. "I have reviewed the plans for the building they do need to do some civil engineering for a site," Bowers said.

The city is working to improve access to the new developments, Fuqua-Mathiesen said.

"We as a city are working very hard on the Highway 65 construction project, and we are working on a proposed east-west road," she said. "We're working very hard in our community to lay curb and gutter and stormwater control."

Employment

Rick Ziegenfuss, director of community and economic development for the city of Hollister, said the largest employer for the Hollister region is College of the Ozarks. The second largest employer is the Hollister Public Schools, followed by Lowe's.

Hollister schools employ about 185 people and Lowe's employs 135, he said.

"We've got to get some private industry or private retail in here somewhere along the line," Ziegenfuss said.

Other significant employers are located in the industrial park, where Ziegenfuss said there are about 35 businesses, including Sherwin-Williams Paint, United Parcel Service, Creative Printing and Design, the Branson Daily News, Silver Dollar City Warehouses and a regional distribution center for the U.S. Postal Service.

Future hopes

Ziegenfuss said the city of Hollister has three visions for the future. The first is for planned retail growth in the South Towne area and in Hollister's old downtown area on Downing Street. In the last 18 months, the city has provided period lighting, new sidewalks and a new bridge in the old downtown area.

"It looks like an old English Village modern version," and businesses include an art gallery, pottery shop and antique stores, he said. The city also has retail-related plans for the corridor along Turkey Creek, which has access to Lake Taneycomo.

When bringing in retail, though, Ziegenfuss said the city has to be cognizant of existing businesses so that it doesn't bring in new businesses that will damage them.

"Our focus is on the residents of our region. We provide services for them, such as the Lowe's building center, such as grocery stores, such as auto parts (stores) pharmacies, things of that nature," Ziegenfuss said.

The city's vision also includes more light manufacturing and industrial businesses.

"We focus on the industrial park on that, and we continue to try and attract other businesses into that particular area," Ziegenfuss said. He added that the Lakes Area Industrial Park was founded by a development consortium, but it is now owned entirely by private investors.

The challenge that comes with wanting to bring in new employers and industry, Ziegenfuss said, is trying balance the needs of private investment against public interest and available resources.

"One of the things that we're very protective of down here is our environmnent because it is one of the greatest assets that we have," he said. "And so you have the public interest in that, so we've got to balance emissions, we have to balance wastewater discharge."

The third area in which Hollister's leaders see growth and change is in residential development. Ziegenfuss said the demands on land in Branson, Forsyth and other area cities for travel and tourism issues might make it hard for people who work in the area to find places to live.

"We believe Hollister is a good place for them to be," he said. To that end, he said the city is working with private developers and the Missouri Housing and Development Commission to establish a greater residential presence.