The federal government is giving the former U.S. Army Reserve center in Belleville to the city after nearly 60 years of military use, and the city is selling it to St. Clair County for $250,000.
In the past three weeks, both the City Council and County Board have voted to enter into an intergovernmental agreement to transfer ownership of the center, which sits on more than 5 acres at 500 South Belt East at its intersection with Illinois 13.
The county plans to use the center, which local residents often refer to as “the armory,” mainly as a storage facility, according to County Board Chairman Mark Kern.
“We have emergency equipment stored at, for lack of a better word, a barn, a pole building that (MidAmerica St. Louis Airport) acquired when it bought property for the airport,” he told County Board members at a committee meeting on Monday before the board voted on the agreement.
“It isn’t the best facility to store items like masks and gowns and cadaver bags and all the things that you have to have for a disaster. So we’ll be moving (them) to the armory, which is a much nicer, cleaner and capable building.”
Kern also mentioned that the center has office space that could someday be used as a command base for St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency in case of disaster.
The sprawling brick complex was officially known as the Pfc. Raymond Gantner Army Reserve Center. It was dedicated on May 29, 1960.
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