Lot negotiations under way after first-round talks

More than four months have passed since the city first solicited proposals for the 1.7-acre site between the Springfield Exposition Center and Jordan Valley Car Park. The property was once slated for a multipurpose arena backed by local hotelier John Q. Hammons, who later withdrew the plan and partnered with Missouri State University to build JQH Arena on the school’s campus.

In that time, the city refined its vision for the site and issued a second request for proposals in late April that asked developers to include an office building with at least 100,000 square feet of Class A office space and a four-star hotel with at least 150 rooms.

Officials are hopeful a hotel-office complex will boost convention business and breathe life into an underperforming parking garage.

Branson-based HCW Evergreen LLC, Springfield hotelier John Q. Hammons and BC Development of Kansas City all submitted proposals for hotel-office towers. A fourth firm – Opus Northwest LLC – pitched a corporate headquarters building for BKD LLP but argued that a hotel on the site isn’t financially feasible.

The Springfield Tax Abatement and Tax Increment Financing Commission, which meets again at 1:30 p.m. June 12, is charged with recommending one of the proposals to City Council. But before that can happen, city staff will negotiate points with the developers.

In exchange for taking on the project, developers have requested a bevy of incentives, including fee waivers, deferred lease payments and special taxing districts to offset the car park’s $9 million bond debt.

On the table

While most of the developers have offered to buy or lease the former arena site from the city, BC Development is floating a unique land swap proposal.

Vice President Rick Baier explained to commissioners June 4 that his firm could acquire the parcel from the city in exchange for The Arbor motel property at 505 St. Louis St. The motel property, owned by Becky Spence of Springfield, could be the site of a proposed natural history museum, Baier said.

Greene County Presiding Commissioner Dave Coonrod, who sits on the TIF Commission, has been a major proponent of such a museum. Coonrod said he has never spoken with Spence or anyone from BC Development about the proposed land swap.

The museum – dubbed the Missouri Institute of Natural Science – is in its “embryonic stage,” said Coonrod, who envisions the center-city venue as a place to display paleontological finds from Riverbluff Cave, discovered in southwest Greene County six years ago.

If the land swap isn’t feasible, Baier said BC Development is open to purchasing the property or negotiating a ground lease for its proposed high-rise tower with 120,000 square feet of office space atop a 300-room hotel. Baier said his firm has a letter of intent from Marriott.

The hotel would face west and connect to the expo center with a skywalk, he said. The office component housing BKD would be on the tower’s east side – accessible from St. Louis Street – and would connect to the car park via an elevated corridor.

Hammons is proposing a 14-story tower with office space on the second through sixth floors and an Embassy Suites hotel on the top seven floors, as well as 50 underground parking spaces.

Hammons has offered to buy the property at its appraised value – contingent on a lease agreement with anchor tenant BKD – along with about 650 spaces in the car park. His firm also is requesting Chapter 353 property tax abatement for 10 years.

HCW Evergreen has proposed a 200-room Hilton hotel with 30 residential condominiums on the upper floors and 120,000 square feet of office space, half of which would be leased to BKD. President Rick Huffman said his firm lowered the number of hotel rooms from 300 to minimize the project’s financial risk.

HCW Evergreen has proposed a 99-year property lease, with monthly payments deferred for 10 years. The firm also has offered to purchase 801 parking spaces in the car park for $5 million to $6 million, contingent upon the creation of a community improvement tax district.

Hotel market questioned

The odd firm out at the June 4 TIF commission meeting was Minneapolis-based Opus Northwest, which has a regional office in Kansas City.

Opus Northwest has proposed a corporate headquarters building with 100,000 to 150,000 square feet, depending on the number and size of interested office tenants.

Dave Harrison, vice president of real estate development for Opus Northwest’s Kansas City office, questioned whether the Springfield market could support the four-star hotel pitched by his competitors, who said nightly rates would approach $150.

“If there was a demand for it today, it would be under construction today,” he said.

BKD’s desire to have a new corporate headquarters on the site guarantees a quality office tenant and significant revenue for the underutilized car park, Harrison said.

“That’s the tail wagging the dog,” he said. “We don’t feel comfortable stacking a project here.”

But Tracy Kimberlin, executive director of the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, said market conditions would support a “quality, upper-end facility.” Several limited-service properties in Springfield with relatively high occupancy rates are already charging upwards of $75 a night, Kimberlin said.

“If we just have an office building on that lot we’re going to … shoot ourselves in the foot for many years to come,” he said.[[In-content Ad]]