MOUNT VERNON — “If it’s built, they will come,” said John Francis of his dream of creating a neighborhood park at the corner of Madison and Marion streets. The site work underway at the former American National Can site means that dream is coming ever closer to a reality.
Francis, councilman for Mount Vernon’s 2nd Ward, and Jeff Harris, president of the Knox County Area Development Foundation (ADF), spoke to a small group of residents on Thursday about plans for the industrial site and the park.
Kicking off the discussion, Harris related how the Knox County Land Reutilization Corp., informally known as the land bank, acquired 27 acres of the former ANC property adjacent to the neighborhood. The land bank gave the ADF the authority to clear the site of concrete, trees, tires and other rubbish.
The goal is to turn the ANC site into an industrial park that the ADF will market along with the 47-acre Siemens campus. Harris said that when you combine the two sites, you can go to Chicago and other cities that are corporate headquarters for industrial companies looking to expand. Both sites have rail access, water, electric, and natural gas available.
“A lot of sites cannot claim [those amenities], particularly rail,” he said.
Both sites are zoned manufacturing. Harris noted that the neighborhood residents are used to living next door to manufacturing facilities, so that should not be an issue. Plus, he said, plants today are cleaner and quieter than they were in times past.
The ANC site and Siemens campus will form a new industrial park called Cooper Works Industrial Park.
“We said let’s figure out a name that calls out Mount Vernon’s heritage, and we came up with Cooper Works Industrial Park,” explained Harris.
Site clearing on the ANC parcel is underway by United Aggregates, and Harris expects it to be done in three weeks. The next step is to work with a commercial real estate broker to market the combined property, which is suitable for one or multiple companies.
While Harris said it could take seven or eight years to get a company into the industrial park, the neighborhood park will be a short-term reality. When United Aggregates finishes clearing the ANC site, crews will move to the park and start clearing trees.
Francis said the one-acre park will include picnic tables, playground equipment, and possibly a shelter house. He anticipates security and lighting to be similar to that of Riverside Park.
“If you know anything about playground equipment, you know that it’s expensive, so we’ll be looking for Rotary and other groups that donate playground equipment,” he said. “Come fall, when this site’s clear … we’re going to have another picnic at the future Shellmar Park.”
Harris agreed that the name Shellmar Park was a fitting tribute to the Chicago-based Shellmar Products which took over the industrial site in 1934. Continental Can acquired Shellmar in 1956, and American National Can eventually bought the site.
Francis challenged the residents to spread the word about developments in the neighborhood.
“This is when we need to get back on social media and let them know what’s going on,” he said.
He, along with Police Capt. Scott McKnight, encouraged residents to keep an eye out for and report suspicious behavior in the area. McKnight said that it is not unusual for someone to steal construction machinery, even bulldozers.
Referring to the couple of hundred residents who will be positively affected by the park and the couple of thousand residents who will be positively affected by the potential jobs, Francis said “this will be a huge milestone for this councilman.”
