Council considers 3 rezonings spanning 15 acres

RELATED

Kearney, Kansas corner sells to developer

Last edited 1:48 p.m., Dec. 12, 2017

Springfield City Council last night considered three back-to-back bills for rezonings spanning 15 acres.

Presented by Springfield Planning and Development Director Mary Lilly Smith, the first bill would rezone roughly 6.5 acres at 611 E. Sunset Ave. to a medium-density, multifamily residential district from a single-family residential district. Plans for a 112-unit apartment building are contingent on the rezoning. Lee Engineering & Associates LLC’s Derek Lee, who represented the property owner at the meeting, could not be reached by deadline this morning for additional details. He said at the meeting a connection from the building to the South Creek Greenway Trail would be part of the development.

Council documents list the applicants as Coryell Enterprises LLC and E&M Edgewood LLC. Sam M. Coryell could not be reached for comment immediately this morning.

A second bill would rezone 3.2 acres generally located at 1220 E. Lark St. to a planned development district No. 360 from a planned development district No. 84. Geoffrey Butler of Butler, Rosenbury & Partners LLP told Springfield Business Journal State Bank of Southwest Missouri Inc. currently owns the property south of the intersection of National Avenue and Republic Road near Twin Oaks Country Club.

A planned development district No. 360, according to council documents, allows for temporary lodging uses, including hotels. Butler, who represented the applicant at the meeting, said an undisclosed developer is interested in building a hotel there, but the purchase of the property depends on the rezoning.

“They’re still working on their franchise. Until that is served up, it’s pure speculation,” Butler said, noting if plans move forward, the hotel, no matter the flag, likely would be about five stories high and contain about 124 rooms.

The third bill would rezone 5.1 acres at Kansas Expressway and Kearney Street to a highway commercial district. It also would establish a conditional overlay district No. 137, from a highway commercial district with a conditional overlay district No. 24. Smith said the change to No. 137 would prohibit certain uses that the Planning and Zoning Commission felt were no longer appropriate for the intersection’s magnitude, including outdoor storage and vehicular trailer sales.

Springfield developer James Tillman, according to SBJ reporting, owns the property. In late October, Tillman said he purchased 3.5 acres at the southeast corner of Kansas and Kearney listed for $1.8 million. In addition, Tillman bought out the adjacent residential block – about 12 parcels ranging in price between $25,000 and $70,000, he said.

“We’re looking at a situation where the developer has assembled a significant amount of property,” Smith said. “They’re looking at a community-scale commercial center development here.”

Tillman in October said Kum & Go was interested in the corner spot. He also mentioned the possibility of Scooter’s Coffee or Starbucks, though he was still working on finding tenants.

Council will vote on the rezonings at its next meeting, on Jan. 16.