Plans underway for rental company in Effingham
Sep. 15—EFFINGHAM — Members of the Effingham Plan Commission have approved a site plan for a tool and equipment rental company.
EBS Development of Teutopolis wants to develop a new 4,881-square-foot building for RENTX Rentals at the former Effingham Visitor's Center location at 1505 Hampton Drive, just off of Interstate 70/57.
Effingham Builders Supply started tool and equipment rental in 2003. RENTX became a separate business from Effingham Builders Supply in 2018 when a RENTX store in Mattoon opened at 1300 Fort Worth Way, RENTX co-owner Richard Mette said in an interview. His son, Sam Mette, is a co-owner of RENTX.
"We separated the companies and I sold my interest in the lumber yard," Richard Mette said.
Mette said RENTX is renting space from Effingham Builders Supply until the business can move into its new location on Hampton Drive, where demolition of the former Effingham Visitor's Center is complete.
"We hope to start construction in the next 30 to 60 days," said Mette. "We're hopeful for occupancy at the end of February 2023."
City of Effingham Engineer Luke Thoele presented the RENTX site plan to the commission.
"RENTX is looking to run their facility out of there for the rental and sales of equipment," Thoele said. "The building will include a shop area and a retail office area."
Thoele said in addition to the 4,881 square feet the building plans show a second floor mezzanine area of up to 1,800 square feet. He said the south edge of the property would have a retaining wall.
"This design is intended to maximize the usable area of the lot," Thoele said.
On Oct. 6 of last year, The City of Effingham entered into a contract for private development with EBS Development LLC, RENTX for the purchase price of $450,000, with a condition stating the construction of the business must be complete by Sept. 30.
In May, the city granted an amendment to the agreement extending the final construction date to Sept. 30, 2023. The extension was granted because demolition of the former Effingham Visitor's Center building could not begin until Ameren replaced and rewired a transformer.
In another matter, Effingham Storage Solutions 2 petitioned for a special-use permit for a mini-warehouse in a B-2 or M-1 District on property currently owned by a Revocable Trust, Peter R. Brandenburger and Belle C. Brandenburger, trustees, and contract buyer Mixco Enterprises LLC, managers Daniel Brandenburger and Noah Brandenburger, located at 709 West Wabash Ave.
Lee P. Kaufmann, co-owner of Effingham Storage Solutions 2, testified before the plan commission in support of the petition. Billy Voyles is co-owner.
The property currently has three attached buildings. The north building is leased to a fitness company and an individual giving baseball instruction. The center building would be rented for storage space and the south building would be used for climate-controlled mini-storage.
"Currently, I own a mini-storage unit in the old SNAP-On building on South Linden. I get numerous calls for climate-controlled storage. There is minimal in town, and we came up with the idea of purchasing this," said Kaufmann.
Kaufmann said the mini-storage unit will have three entrances and each will have keypad entry with cameras inside. Kaufmann also said a concrete wall separates the three buildings, and the storage spaces he plans to use for mini-storage are made of metal.
No one testified in opposition of the special-use permit, which the commission unanimously approved. The request will now move to Effingham City Council for final approval.
Charles Mills can be reached at charles.mills@effinghamdailynews.com or by phone at 618-510-9226 or 217-347-7151 ext. 300126.
