EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) -
When driving around the Tri-State, one might notice a lot of empty buildings.
However, economic developers say we don't have enough of the right buildings. A good example is the old Walmart building.
Demolition on the former Walmart is underway, after the building, up for sale, received little to no interest.
"When you end up with a building like a Walmart, often times you see it turned into a flea market or a church," said Jan Meeks of Summit Real Estate Services.
The real estate company says retailers are looking for new buildings, and that demand is also having a toll on industrial space.
"We have a lot of buildings, but it's whether or not they are the right buildings for projects," said President & CEO of Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana, Greg Wathen.
Wathen says more than 95 percent of the companies that come to him want an existing building.
He says with limited buildings, the Tri-State is losing out on jobs.
"If you were to ask for a building of 150,000 to 200,000 square feet where the eve height would be 26 feet or higher sitting on 10 to 25 acres of land. I can count on one hand the availability of the inventory within the four counties we serve," said Wathen.
Economic development leaders say they'd like to see speculative building spaces built to attract businesses to the Tri-State.
Wathen says it does have risk, but if done right and built in the right locations, it works. He says some counties are already having discussions with private developers.
As the former Walmart, the owners hope by demolishing the building, they will be able to build a new building to the specs a new company wants.
"We have faith in the next few years we'll attract the tenants we're looking for," said Meeks.
Economic development experts say if there aren't actual buildings to market, the next best thing is 'shovel-ready sites' and virtual designs that give companies an idea of a building that could be built quickly.
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