Where people want to be
County in midst of building boom
By STU MERRY
It seems everywhere you look in McLean County there’s some type of building going on. Homes, garages, storage buildings ….
The county is in the midst of a building boom. County officials continue to see a number of building permit requests come across their desks. Why are these unprecedented increases happening in McLean County? Ryan Oberg, McLean County assessor, said the county is in the middle of the building permit boom.
He said the increase in building permits in McLean County is due to several factors. One, of course, is the petroleum industry.
"Though McLean County itself isn’t in the red-zone, we are situated close enough to high-activity centers that we see substantial run-off," Oberg pointed out.
Another factor is the number of residents formerly of those areas who have opted to move away from the high-activity areas, to locations not too far from home. There, McLean County fits the bill perfectly.
The other factor is the energy industry that has long been established in the county. Oberg said those two things will continue to be two of the biggest factors contributing to the continued spike in building permits and population.
