IN OUR OPINION: St. Charles County grew into economic power

St. Charles County has come a long way since the days of its reputation as primarily a bedroom community, when a majority of its workforce commuted to jobs east of the Missouri River and many residents did much of their shopping in St. Louis County.

Back then, candidates for local government offices routinely listed economic development as the No. 1 priority. Attracting new business and industry still is a priority for city and county governments looking to expand the tax base, but the circumstances have changed dramatically in the county's favor. Several recent stories in the Journal illustrate a few of the multitude of examples of how much has changed.

Staff writer Sarah Baraba reported St. Charles County businesses rang up a record $4.7 billion in retail sales in 2012, up from about $4.4 billion in 2009, according to the Economic Development Center of St. Charles County. Greg Prestemon, EDC president and chief executive officer, cited increased consumer confidence and more home building as reasons for the surge.

We shouldn't be surprised by such prosperity, as astonishing as it might seem in the shadows of recession, or by Prestemon's forecast of a bright future, especially if newhome sales continue to rise and the growth of business and industry, such as General Motors' expansion of its Wentzville plant and its additional 1,200 jobs, brings more people who will buy homes and patronize local businesses. The simple fact is, the county's population, which grew from 143,455 in 1980 to more than 360,000 today, offers businesses one of Missouri's larger bases of potential customers for their products and services.

Population growth puts pressure on school districts to accommodate more students and on local governments to expand public services and build and widen roads to handle increased traffic, but it also creates a domino effect to the benefit of businesses, consumers and local governments.

Business goes where it can draw new customers. More businesses means greater choices for shoppers, who then spend more here instead of across the river and generate more local sales tax revenue while saving fuel costs by shopping closer to home. Business growth creates new jobs, which has the dual effect of reducing the dependency on jobs elsewhere in the metropolitan area and attracting new residents to work in St. Charles County. The EDC's website points out that as of January 2012, only 49.4 percent of the county's residents commuted to work in other parts of the region, down from 53 percent in 2000 and 55.2 percent in 1990, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

In another story, Russell Korando reported on the opening of Menards' new 162,340- square-foot store in St. Peters. No doubt the Wisconsin-based home improvement company, which has been expanding its reach in the Midwest, was enticed by the potential to profit from the area's population. Earlier this year, Menards withdrew plans for a new store in O'Fallon, reportedly because of concerns about the effect of President Barack Obama's policies on the economy. Menards may know best what it can afford to do, but it could be missing out on even more customers in the growth areas of western St. Charles County.

In the meantime, health care organizations are looking to cash in on the county's growth. The Journal's Brian Flinchpaugh wrote about SSM Health Care's plans to expand facilities and services in St. Charles, Lake Saint Louis and Wentzville, and about Chesterfield-based Mercy's expansion into St. Charles County, including clinics opened last fall in Wentzville and St. Charles, a new medical facility planned in Cottleville and Mercy's acquisition of 52 acres off Highway K in O'Fallon, though Mercy hasn't announced what it plans to put there.

BJC Healthcare, which operates Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital, reached out to western St. Charles County residents in 2007 when it opened O'Fallon's first hospital, Progress West Healthcare Center near Highway K and Interstate 64.

Highway K itself looks nothing like it did as recently as the mid-1990s when it still was a two-lane road south of Mexico Road, flanked by only a few subdivisions and businesses. Rapid residential development and the widening of Highway K to four lanes spurred rapid commercial growth, turning it into one of the county's busier corridors.

Road construction played a role in creating other bustling avenues of commerce such as Mid Rivers Mall Drive and Wentzville Parkway, and in the commercial and industrial growth that came to the north side of St. Charles after Highway 370 opened. Business also expanded into Dardenne Prairie, where residential growth quickly turned a quiet village into one of Missouri's fastest growing communities, and where Mayor Pam Fogarty eagerly awaits more development when the state extends Highway 364 through her city.

The common denominator in all of that is the tremendous population growth, which provided the foundation for events and efforts that have transformed St. Charles County into an economic power better able to withstand the effects of recession and allows the EDC and local governments to deal from a position of strength when promoting the county as a great place for new business and industry. That, too, bodes well for the county's prospects for a bright and prosperous future.