Educational supply store closing after 5 decades

IPA Educational Supply, a company in business for nearly five decades under two generations of family ownership, is closing its southwest Springfield shop.

Owner Amy Greene announced the closure in a July 5 Facebook post.

"We were not planning on closing IPA, but we received an offer to buy our building. It's been a very difficult decision, but the retail climate and our lives have changed since the pandemic, so Don and I decided it was time to close IPA," Greene said in the post, referencing her husband who works at the store.

The video post did not indicate who offered to buy the building, and Amy Greene could not be reached for comment by deadline. The offices of the Greene County assessor and recorder currently do not show that the roughly 20,000-square-foot property at 2404 W. Kingsley St. has changed hands.

IPA, which sells a variety of educational supplies such as books, toys, notebooks, arts and crafts items, and classroom decor, was founded in 1976 by Greene's parents, Donna and Earl Howell, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

Greene said in the video that a liquidation sale starts today in preparation for a planned August closure.