$7.5M For Wedge Redevelopment Project Moving Forward
Date Posted: December 12, 2023
Posted In: Projects,
From RiverBender: $7.5 million in TIF funding for the Wedge Redevelopment Project received preliminary approval from the Alton Committee of the Whole on Monday. The city would agree to reimburse developer WIC Landlord LLC for completion of the multi-phase project if the agreement gets full approval from the City Council this Wednesday.
John Simmons with AltonWorks spoke at the committee meeting to thank city officials for their support of the project, saying the investment will go far in Alton.
“Thank you to the city for believing in us with the TIF request that moved out of this committee tonight,” Simmons said. “It’s going to go a long way to revitalize Alton and help dreams become a reality and bring things to fruition faster than they already would, so thank you very much.”
Construction on the building wedged between East Broadway and East 3rd Street in Alton, formerly known as the Wedge Bank, recently reached its one-year milestone. According to a press release from AltonWorks, the end goal for the building is to support businesses and make Alton’s workforce more competitive.
“The Wedge will also serve as a workforce training center, digital hub for the $20 million fiber network and will help move Alton into the digital economy,” the release states. “It will house startups, space for individuals or teams, and more established companies that want to accelerate their businesses or develop new technologies, products, or systems.”
AltonWorks estimates The Wedge will open in the fall of 2024 after about 18 months of construction and approximately 170,000 hours of labor.