Future of Sunshine, National corner to be discussed at public meeting 

A neighborhood meeting is scheduled tonight at 1755 S. National Ave., the site where a home at the center of a zoning dispute was razed Oct. 4. 

Through attorney Bryan D. Fisher, developer BK&M LLC on Oct. 14 notified property owners living within 500 feet of the property, plus officers of Springfield neighborhood associations, the meeting would take place 4-6:30 p.m. in the lot that once housed the white Colonial-style home built in 1930. 

BK&M owns or is in the process of buying eight houses on the University Heights neighborhood corner near the National and Sunshine Street intersection where some 70,000 vehicles a day pass through, according to the developer. The intersection is the second busiest in Springfield, after the intersection of Sunshine and Glenstone Avenue, one mile to the east, according to past reporting. 

The remaining seven homes, which are still standing, are 1141, 1133, 1199 and 1111 E. Sunshine St., 1138 E. University St., and 1745 and 1739 S. National Ave. 

The meeting notice points out that all development applications involving an advertised public hearing require that the developer hold a neighborhood meeting. BK&M has filed an application for a zoning map amendment and conditional overlay district for the eight addresses. A white canopy has been put up on the site in advance of the meeting as tonight’s forecast calls for rain.

Ralph Duda, co-founder of BK&M with partner Anthony Tolliver, said the city requires the meeting to be on-site or adjacent to it. The duo first hosted a meeting on Aug. 18 at Messiah Lutheran Church, technically outside of the University Heights neighborhood, and were met with sharp opposition from many in the crowd. 

“Dozens of people were complaining last time about the venue and how unprofessional the meeting was, so we’re spending a lot of money for a large industrial tent, chairs, podium, microphone and security on the site,” Duda said in an interview with Springfield Business Journal prior to the Monday evening neighborhood meeting. 

At the first meeting, the BK&M team was critiqued for not showing up with plans to share, but rather asking neighbors what they wanted to see on the corner. The majority of the neighbors who spoke up at the first meeting indicated they wanted to retain single-family homes instead of businesses. The rezoning request would change the corner from residential to commercial use. Duda said at the time he envisioned stores, such as an Apple store, with residential lofts overhead, or a restaurant like The Cheesecake Factory or Gilardi’s. 

“We’re doing the best we can here,” Duda said. “It’s definitely a hostile environment, which is sad, because it’s not the majority of University Heights – just a small subset who are almost obsessed about this thing.” 

He added that he got a call from a neighborhood resident who apologized for signing a protest petition, but who said he did so because the neighbors wouldn’t leave him alone. He did not disclose the name of the signee. 

At the time of the first meeting, BK&M had purchased four of the houses. The others have been acquired since then or are in the process of being acquired. Duda described the process, saying 1133 E. University St. had been under contract for $325,000, but he ended up agreeing to pay $450,000. He expects to close soon on 1111 E. Sunshine St. 

Having a meeting on the site where he knocked down a historic home has been seen by some as a deliberate insult to neighborhood residents. When asked if he intended to get back at them with the meeting location following a heated first meeting, Duda said no. 

“I’ve seen posts saying that, but that’s not the case at all,” he said. “I know how things can get misconstrued, but tearing that house down was not done out of malice.” 

He added that he went to the city to ask if he could move the meeting after reading some concerns online. He proposed two alternative sites in the city. He said the response he heard was that he had to have the meeting on the site or adjacent to it. In fact, city code states, “The meeting shall be held on the property involved in the application or in the immediate vicinity.” 

Duda said he was saddened by the rumors going around about his company’s intentions. 

“We’re making every bit of effort we can to be transparent,” he said. 

When asked if he intends to demolish the other homes he purchased, Duda outlined a different plan. 

“I don’t intend to demo those houses; I intend to move the houses,” he said. “There’s a need for homeownership on the north end of town. I already have quotes for moving the rest of the houses.” 

He said some homes will have to have their brick removed in order to be moved, and those would be replaced with siding. 

“The white house was not moveable,” he said of the demolished Colonial. “It was in pretty bad shape after standing six years vacant.” 

A public Facebook page maintained by real estate agent and historian Richard Crabtree, “Springfield, Missouri History, Landmarks & Vintage Photography,” posted images of the demolition on the day the house went down. Prominent in one photo was a large BK&M banner skirting the site, with “Be Kind & Merciful,” the meaning of the name, spelled out. 

“‘Kind & Merciful,’ is that sign supposed to make people feel better? Lol,” posted Kodi Horton. 

“What does that sign mean? This utter disgrace is anything but kind and merciful,” wrote Lisa Wagner Haefner, punctuating her response with two frowning emojis. 

“What was Kind or Merciful about completely demolishing a perfectly good, beautiful, historic home that meant so much to so many people? Unimaginable,” posted Debbie Apostol. 

Coverage of tonight’s meeting will be in tomorrow’s Daily Update newsletter and at SBJ.net.