National Archives to house records in underground quarry
VALMEYER -- Preparations have been completed on a 6-million-square-foot underground limestone quarry called Rock City that will house the National Archives and Records Administration's new Records Center Facility.
U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, said the administration will lease the nearly 400,000-square-foot center for $52.5 million for 20 years.
"We are just very pleased to have the National Archives and Records Administration select this site. It's a perfect facility," Costello said Wednesday. "I think it's going to be a long-term
Developer Joe Koppeis of Admiral Parkway Inc. said the total cost of the record center project was about $23.5 million. And Dennis Knobloch, village administrator and former mayor of Valmeyer, said the village received about $3.5 million in state and federal grants for infrastructure construction.
The center will include 26,000 square feet of office space and two 2,100 square foot microfilm storage areas. It has a maximum storage capacity of 2.01 million cubic feet.
Ron Hindman, director of the National Personnel Records Center, said the center will hold treasury checks, postal money and military and Internal Revenue Service records.
Hindman said the National Archives and Records Administration considered about six sites in Missouri and Illinois for its new center. He said Rock City was the best choice because it made the most sense economically.
"This is the most economical space that meets our storage requirements," he said, adding that underground facilities with climate control are more cost effective than those that are not.
Mayor Howard Heavner said Valmeyer purchased the quarry after the city was relocated after the 1993 flood. He said flooding will not be an issue at the site because it sits above the flood plain.
Heavner also said the center will benefit residents because the village will be making about $100,000 per year off the deal. He said some of that money can be used for upkeep and police patrol at the site.
Hindman said the Administration will start transporting archives from two of its St. Louis sites to the facility next October, and should reach full occupancy by 2010.