MIDC sees potential for Mozingo-driven growth
In the News
The Maryville Industrial Development Corp. is a local non-profit organization probably most associated with working to spur growth in what is known as the Maryville Industrial Park, a cluster of factories and other enterprises, along with vacant real estate, bordering Wilson Industrial Road on the east edge of town.
But times are changing, MIDC board member Joe Baumli said Wednesday, and growth in the manufacturing sector, while still a key goal, is no longer the only path toward economic expansion for rural communities in northwest Missouri.
That realization, Baumli said, is what convinced the board to approve MIDC’s recent acquisition from Ciecel and Rosemary Ledgerwood of a 22-acre parcel at the northwest corner of the intersection of Highway 136 and Liberty Road, the main entryway to Mozingo Lake Recreation Park.
Baumli said the corporation has no immediate plans for the property, a narrow strip fronting mostly along 136, but that the board didn’t want to walk away from the chance to promote future development tied to the growing prominence of Mozingo Lake as a regional recreation destination.
“MIDC has worked for the past 50-plus years to promote industry and create jobs,” Baumli said, “and that is still our primary goal. But we have had to re-evaluate and recognize that Mozingo is a huge engine of growth for our local economy.”
Given that the new MIDC parcel is within walking distance of the lake — Maryville’s primary source of drinking water — industrial development there is unlikely. But just about everything else is on the table, according to Baumli, though he declined to name specific possibilities for enterprise.
“It’s a very important part of our community,” he said of Mozingo, noting the advent over the last couple of years of the Watson 9 golf course, a new lakeside hotel and ongoing construction of a municipally funded conference center and clubhouse.
Significant private-property residential construction has occurred near the 1,000-acre lake as well.
“All of that is creating a lot more interest, and a lot of folks are coming to our area,” Baumli said. “We don’t know what the future holds.”
One possibility for a small portion of MIDC’s new holding, he said, is working with the city toward installation of “some kind of advertising” for the hotel, conference center and two-course golf complex.
Back in April, Maryville officials announced plans for a large Mozingo “monument sign” somewhere along Highway 136, but a location for the structure has yet to be determined.
“We want to work with them on that and then help them,” Baumli said. “We want to partner with the city, no doubt about it.”
Whatever lies in store for the land, Baumli said MIDC’s primary goal is for appropriate development that will have a significant impact on local economic growth.
“The board’s emphasis is on what would be best for the community,” he said.
