DECATUR - For decades, the Romano family has been developing homes and businesses in Decatur.
Business has been good.
"We have developed or been part of putting $100 million worth of real estate properties on the tax rolls over the last 20 years," said Tony Romano, president of Romano Co. "We continue to show our loyalty to the city of Decatur by buying more commercial properties and redeveloping them for the city."
Look around town, and it's not hard to find evidence of the family's work.
Their office at 202 S. Franklin St. formerly was a city firehouse. Now it houses the Romanos' business and two law firms.
In recent years, Romano Co. erected a new branch for Hickory Point Bank & Trust on the site of an old Hardee's on Decatur's southeast side.
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"That was an eyesore to Decatur, sitting vacant for two or three years," Tony Romano said. "Then we turned it into a bank facility, which turned out fantastic. It added a lot of value to that end of town."
The family is building a new Culver's restaurant at the site of a former Hardee's restaurant at the corner of Pershing Road and Business U.S. 51. They're working on a third addition to First Christian Church on North MacArthur Road. The Romanos erected the West Towne Square near Millikin University, helping to revitalize business on the city's West End.
New upscale housing shows their handiwork.
Romano Co. has constructed luxury condominiums along Lake Decatur.
They've built a gated community called The Reserve along Lake Decatur. Country Club Meadows, another gated community, is located along Country Club Road.
Jim Romano, CEO of the contracting and developing company, began selling real estate and doing general contracting work in the 1960s. His sons, Tony and Steve, joined the family business in later years.
"The first, oh, ten years was strictly residential," Jim Romano said. "And then we started evolving into residential and light commercial. Probably the last five years, our commercial business has probably taken up closer to 70 percent of our business."
That trend likely will continue, Jim Romano said.
A recent purchase the Romanos made was the Millikin Bank Building downtown. Regions Bank, which currently occupies the building, will move next year to a facility under construction in the 300 block of North Water Street. Decatur police say they are in dire need of more space, and they strongly favor moving into the Millikin building.
The Decatur City Council continues to review options for how to provide more room for the police department.
"We purchased that building so that we could try to save it from becoming another vacant eyesore in downtown Decatur," Jim Romano said. "We're in the process of trying to develop that for the police department. If that would work out, we'd certainly like to see it.
"We think it would certainly help the immediate downtown area develop quicker than it has in the past, and the police department would definitely be a strong element by being in the building and by being in the central part of the downtown district.
"If that doesn't happen, we'll just have to try to go out and see what we can do to keep that building occupied."
The family intends to redevelop the site of the former Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon along Business U.S. 51, just north of Pershing Road.
The Romanos also have plans for the site of Eldorado Bowl on the city's west end.
"We're going to demolish it and redevelop the corner," Jim Romano said. "That's the first thing people entering our city from the west side really see, so we'd like to get something going there that would more than welcome people into town."
Jim Romano says he still delights in the finished product of the family's work.
"The biggest thing is creating new subdivisions, creating new buildings and seeing the satisfaction of the owner at the very end, when they occupy a new building we've given them, a new home that we've given them," Jim Romano said. "There is much, much satisfaction in creating something and renovating something and making it more viable."
The walls of Romanos' offices are filled with large pictures of their development projects.
But the family keeps its eyes fixed on future development opportunities.
"We never look back and say, 'Wow, we developed this or that,' " Tony Romano said. "We're always looking to the future and trying to figure out what to develop next."
