Consultant selected for Lake Springfield master plan

The city and City Utilities of Springfield selected a consultant for the Lake Springfield master plan.

Engineering and consulting firm Crawford, Murphy & Tilly Inc. is expected to complete the plan by summer 2024, according to a news release.

The firm will advise the city and CU on how best to redevelop the Lake Springfield area and decommissioned James River Power Station. A request for qualifications was issued in May.

"We are excited and proud to be part of this once-in-a-generation opportunity to work with our community leaders and agency partners to reimagine where the vision of Lake Springfield intersects with nature, recreation and economic development," said Steve Prange, CMT vice president of business development and strategy director, in the release. "We realized early on that we were going to need a very unique team for this project. We assembled a diverse team of planners, engineers, architects, environmental scientists, economists and recreation specialists that will provide a blend of local and national expertise to reimagine the potential for Lake Springfield.”

The Lake Springfield master plan is slated to cover recreational expansion opportunities, potential reuses for the power station, hydrological studies, water quality and ecological preservation planning, land use recommendations and economic development opportunities.

The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration earlier this year awarded an $800,000 grant for project proposals at Lake Springfield. The funding is slated to be matched by $200,000 in local funds, with $100,000 coming from the Hatch Foundation, $60,000 from CU and $40,000 from the city's Environmental Services Department, according to past reporting.