More than $139 million was spent on public and private construction in Edwardsville in 2024 according to Mayor Art Risavy.
That number is a testament to residents and their desire to invest in their properties, Risavy said during his speech at the 2025 Business Forecast Breakfast on March 4 at The Outlet.
Risavy also said the city’s equalized assessed valuation for 2023 is estimated to be $1.1 billion, which he said was “a reflection of very strong property values.”
Equalization is “the process of applying a multiplier to assessed values, bring the median level of assessments of each township or each county to 33 1/3% of the fair cash value as required by Illinois state statute,” according to information from the Madison County website. The work is done to “ensure that assessment levels are uniform” between Illinois counties.
The estimated equalized assessed valuation for 2024 is $1.24 billion, Risavy said, while the tax rate remains steady.
During his presentation, Risavy also highlighted a number of businesses that opened or are scheduled to open in Edwardsville, including several downtown businesses.
“We’re very excited to see how this transforms downtown and brings more energy to an exciting downtown environment,” Risavy said. “We’re very grateful.”
He was equally excited about the Goshen Commons project, that will turn part of St. Louis Street into a community-centric public commons area.
“It is going to be a huge and a wonderful addition for people in Edwardsville, throughout the major region, and a great compliment for Plummer Family Park,” Risavy said.
He also said that Plummer Family Park will be getting electric car-charging stations and bike parking.
“The Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau promotes travel to Edwardsville by using a variety of tactics,” Jobe said.
That’s led to people visiting Edwardsville spending an average $101 on retail, $127 at restaurants, $120 per business, and $72 at attractions on each visit. Visitors also spend an average of 1.6 nights in the city.
That can attributed to the downtown district and sports, Jobe said.
Jobe said sports travel generated $52.2 billion nationally in 2023.
“This is the fastest growing sector in the hospitality and travel industry in the country,” Jobe said.
