The Southland Drive McDonald’s now has building permits

This issue covers July 2026 permit activity, with recent City Council items added where they help explain what is moving from approval into action.

July included 231 permit and review records with about $8.99 million in stated project value.

Two projects carried much of that total. The largest was a $2.57 million Ameren permit for backup-power work downtown. The other was a group of building, electrical, and sign permits for the new McDonald's on Southland Drive.

Under those two projects, the month's activity was less about adding new buildings and more about improving the ones already here. Solar stayed active. Roof work remained one of the busiest categories. Mechanical and plumbing permits increased. City-owned demolition also returned as a visible cleanup thread.

That mix makes July a systems-and-site month: power reliability, new commercial construction, building equipment, energy upgrades, repairs, and property clearance.

The largest July record was a $2,567,636 commercial building permit at 370 S. Main St., with Ameren listed as the owner.

The description calls for rated masonry walls and a new uninterruptible power supply battery-backup system to replace the old system.

An uninterruptible power supply, often shortened to UPS, keeps equipment running when normal electrical service is interrupted. It can bridge a brief outage or provide time for another backup source to take over.

The permit points to reliability work inside an existing Ameren property. At $2.57 million, the project shows the scale of investment that can go into the systems keeping a facility operating.

July also brought three related records for the new McDonald's at 500 Southland Dr.:

Together, the three records total about $2 million in stated project value.

The restaurant itself is not a new announcement. WAND reported in February that a McDonald's was planned for the South Shores area, with the owner hoping to break ground during the summer and open before the end of the year.

The site was formerly a PNC Bank location and, before that, National City Bank. The July records are useful because they show the project moving from announcement into the building-permit stage.

July included 45 solar photovoltaic permits totaling about $1.54 million.

That is the same number of solar permits as June, with nearly the same stated value. June's increase was not a one-month spike. Solar remained one of the strongest category-level signals in July.

The largest records were:

Several descriptions mention battery storage, meter work, service changes, or related electrical equipment. Not every solar permit includes a battery, but the repeated storage and service language shows that some of this work reaches beyond rooftop panels.

After two straight months at 45 permits, the question is no longer whether June was unusually active. The better question is how long this level of solar work continues.

July showed considerably more heating, cooling, and plumbing activity than June.

Mechanical work appeared in 19 records totaling about $718,000, compared with 14 records and about $139,000 in June.

The largest mechanical projects were:

Plumbing work appeared in 40 records totaling about $355,000, up from 23 records and about $73,000 in June.

The largest plumbing project was represented by a $200,000 permit at the North Prospect Drive Walmart. Its description covers underground work, rough-in work, and resetting fixtures for a Walmart remodel.

The same address also had a $91,275 fire-protection permit. Together, those two trade permits represent about $291,000 in stated work at the property.

The available descriptions provide only part of the remodel scope. They still document meaningful systems work underway at a familiar commercial site.

July included 53 roof permits totaling about $713,000.

That was four fewer permits than June, and the total stated value fell from about $1.07 million. Still, 53 records kept roofing among the most active permit categories.

The largest were:

Roof permits can look routine when viewed one at a time. Across a full month, they remain one of the clearest measures of money going back into existing homes, businesses, churches, and other properties.

Recent storm cleanup appeared in local coverage, but the permit records do not establish that these projects were storm-related. The supported takeaway is simpler: roof investment remained active for another month.

July included eight demolition permits totaling $155,500. Seven involved city-owned properties and accounted for $150,700 of that total:

The remaining record was a $4,800 garage demolition at 887 W. Olive St.

Two of the city properties offer a clear connection between council action and later permit activity. The June 15 council materials included demolition agreements for 1729 N. Church St. and 804 W. Wood St. Both addresses appeared in the July permit data.

That is what makes permit tracking useful over time. A council agreement is an approval. A later demolition permit shows the work moving another step forward.

The records do not identify future uses for the cleared sites. For now, the supported read is city-led property cleanup, not confirmed redevelopment.

July included 19 residential building permits totaling about $324,000. No new-home construction permit appeared in the category.

The larger records included:

Other records covered decks, porches, garages, structural repairs, sheds, a screen room, and smaller restoration work.

July's residential story was not new subdivision construction. It was homeowners and property owners repairing, rebuilding, and adding to existing homes.

A few other records are worth keeping on the radar:

ADM separately announced a much larger modernization investment earlier this summer. The July fire-protection permit shouldn't be treated as part of that program without confirmation. It's a notable institutional record, but one permit isn't enough to establish a larger connection.

July also included three commercial review records. Public information provides more context for the addresses, even though the July records do not describe the proposed work.

A plan review can point to possible future activity, but it is not a construction permit. The Heritage record documents site review, not final approval or the start of construction. All three addresses belong on the watch list until more information appears.

July was not carried by one giant project the way June was. Instead, two large commercial records sat above a broad base of smaller work.

Ameren's backup-power project points to reliability investment in an existing downtown facility. The Southland Drive McDonald's moved a previously announced project into construction permits. Solar held at a high level for a second month. Mechanical and plumbing work increased. Roof permits stayed active. City demolition moved from council approval into the permit stage at two addresses.

Taken together, the month looks less like a wave of expansion and more like practical reinvestment: keeping systems running, adapting commercial sites, repairing buildings, adding energy equipment, and clearing properties.

That work is easy to miss when it is scattered across more than 200 records. Put together, it offers a grounded view of where money and attention are moving around Decatur.

Want to inspect a record behind the analysis? Search July permits, addresses, owners, contractors, and project types at PermitExplorer.

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Until next time,
Jason Ferguson

Decatur Development Update