From the Ground Up: Menards

Owner/developer: Menard Inc.
General contractor: Immel Construction (Green Bay, Wisconsin)
Architect: Ron Pember
Engineers: Anderson Engineering Inc., civil; Menards, structural; MEP Associates LLC (Eau Claire, Wisconsin), mechanical, electrical and plumbing
Size: 248,000 square feet
Estimated cost: $6.7 million, per city permit
Lender: N/A
Estimated completion: Summer
Project description: Crews are transforming the old Hickory Hills Elementary property into a retail site for Menard Inc. The Wisconsin-based home improvement retailer bought the northeast corner of U.S. Highway 65 and Chestnut Expressway from Springfield Public Schools for $4 million in May 2015, and contractors have said project permitting took longer than expected. The store comprises 200,000 square feet, while a planned detached warehouse is 48,000 square feet, according to Springfield Business Journal reporting. A second Menards store is going up on the city’s west side, across from Sunshine Plaza near Sunshine Street and West Bypass. Menards spokesman Jeff Abbott said both stores could be open by late summer. He declined to address the project lender and the estimated cost listed on the city building permit.