Local TV News Story

by William Seay http://stjoechannel.com/fulltext-news?nxd_id=166855&shr=addthis

Driving along the Belt Highway in St. Joseph, you may notice some businesses closed or buildings that are vacant.

Tenants leave and businesses close for various reasons. But, one Belt Highway business owner decided to change locations, and says she couldn't be happier.

Debbie Poe owns Xpress-it Solutions on the Belt Highway.

When she bought the business in 2004, her location caused issues she didn't foresee.

"The building started falling apart on the outside, awning's gone, parking lot's gone, roof leaks," she said.

Poe says the building where Xpress-it used to be is owned by a property manager in New York. Poe says an out-of-town landlord made things difficult.

"It was like 15 people to get to the proper owner, and I don't think I ever got a hold of the proper owner," she added.

Her rent was also much higher than some other business owners she knew were paying.

So earlier this year she decided to move to another location along the Belt Highway. This time, the building is owned right here in St. Joseph.

The Belt Highway hosts many buildings for retail, several of which are vacant or out of business.

The Chamber of Commerce says while it does not actively recruit retail outlets to St. Joseph, it does try to attract retail business across the city.

"We try to recruit businesses that employ a whole lot of people at a higher pay rate. The more jobs we have in town that are higher paying, the more likely that more businesses that are retail will pop up," said Kristi Rasmussen, Chamber of Commerce.

Still, some of the vacant locations are in disrepair.

Poe says it is clear to her what causes the difference between the retail space that looks good and the others which are not so good.

"I don't think it matters where you are on the Belt, whether it's north or south, it doesn't matter. If you drive around and you see parking lots and buildings that are not in the best condition, you can almost tell it's somebody else's," said Poe.

Now that she's moved to her current location, which is locally owned, she says she couldn't be happier.

Xpress-it Solutions moved to its new location on September 30th, 2010.