YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Over $1 million in recent grant and loan funding pledges from several local banks have officials with the city’s Restore SGF initiative feeling hopeful more money will be on the way this year.
The program has reached $1.75 million in pledges, with $1.5 million in loan funding and $250,000 in grants, according to Restore SGF officials. Promoting homeownership and renovating residential properties are key goals of the Restore SGF project, which is initially targeting north-side neighborhoods.
Among the pledges, Systematic Savings Bank committed $500,000 to mortgage loans in Restore SGF’s program areas. Legacy Bank & Trust and Central Bank each pledged $250,000 for the project’s revolving loan fund; Central Bank committed $60,000 over three years in grant funding; and Commerce Bank, Legacy Bank and OakStar Bank committed $30,000 apiece in grant funding over three years.
Richard Ollis, owner of Ollis/Akers/Arney insurance agency and a Springfield councilperson, said the pledges by the financial institutions are “critical.” Ollis is a founding organizer of Restore SGF, along with Community Foundation of the Ozarks Inc. President Brian Fogle, state Rep. Bill Owen, Neighborhood Advisory Council Chair Rusty Worley and city Planning and Development Assistant Director Brendan Griesemer.
“This is going to be a program that will have both public and private support,” Ollis said. “The private support comes through both financial institutions and foundations with the Community Foundation of the Ozarks leading the way.”
CFO last year pledged $600,000 for the initiative, comprising a $500,000 program-related investment at 2.5% interest with maturity in seven years and a $100,000 grant over five years, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. Fogle said the $500,000 is capital that Restore SGF can use to purchase and revitalize homes, as well as loan money at low interest rates. The $100,000 grant is to fund staff time.
The initiative, modeled after Des Moines, Iowa’s Invest DSM, is a collaborative effort to enhance, restore and rehabilitate homes and provide a central resource for residential incentive and loan programs. Restore SGF’s pilot neighborhoods are Grant Beach, Midtown, West Central and Woodland Heights.
Invest DSM, a collaboration between Des Moines and Polk County, Iowa, is committed to neighborhood revitalization in the city, according to its website. Invest DSM’s staff focuses on four pilot neighborhoods, or special investment districts.
Making a pledge
Central Bank made its financial pledge to Restore SGF in December after being approached by Ollis weeks prior, said spokesperson Andrew Tasset. For the revolving loan fund, he said the bank is committed to three years at a 3% interest rate. People can apply for a line of credit to be used for either purchasing or remodeling a home.
While the bank has no specific financial commitment to issue mortgage loans through Restore SGF, such as Systematic Savings Bank, Tasset said it will provide its suite of mortgage and community development loans in the pilot neighborhoods.
“As a community bank, we want our community to thrive. When the communities that we serve thrive, that’s when we can thrive as a bank,” Tasset said. “Central Bank has always been involved in a lot of different community initiatives through the years, and that’s what being a community bank is all about.”
Restore SGF officials refer to this month’s announced commitments as a first round of pledges. Ollis said close to 20 banks have been approached in the past few months.
“We do have several financial institutions that are still considering funding similar to what we’ve received,” he said. “I don’t think anyone has said no.”
Seeking ARPA
Restore SGF also has a pair of $1 million requests before the city and Greene County in the hopes of receiving funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. The city received $40 million in ARPA funds last year, while Greene County was awarded $57 million. Funds must be obligated by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026.
County officials said they have already received letters of interest from prospective applicants with requests totaling over $80 million, according to past SBJ reporting. The application portal is expected to open soon with plans to distribute the first phase of funding in late winter or early spring. Other phases will continue into 2023.
“We’re hopeful that this private interest is going to go a long way to demonstrate to both the city and the county that this has widespread support and fund this using a public-private partnership,” Ollis said of Restore SGF’s initial financial pledges.
Ollis said he hopes the city will begin distributions by the summer, noting he doesn’t serve on the ARPA committee charged with allocating funding. Any ARPA funds will be used to fund a housing condition study and allow the group to become a nonprofit.
“Restore SGF will be its own organization independent of any governmental entity,” he said, adding the funds also would allow hiring an undetermined number of staff members. “We’re just anxiously awaiting that next step of the ARPA funding.”
House Bill 563, which sought to establish a land bank in Springfield, was sponsored in last year’s state legislative session by Springfield Rep. Owen. However, the bill never made it to a vote by the Senate before the end of session after passing in the House of Representatives.
Owen is again sponsoring land bank legislation this session, House Bill 2177, which seeks to establish an agency through which officials would assemble, manage and dispose of vacant land for neighborhood stabilization or redevelopment purposes. According to the bill language, any city with a population of more than 1,500 would be authorized to establish a land bank.
The bill was set for a committee hearing Feb. 17, according to the House website.
Restore SGF officials said promoting homeownership and renovating residential properties is needed in Springfield, which has a high percentage of renters.
The average number of Springfield residents living in owner-occupied housing dropped to 42.3% in 2019 from 46.2% in 2015, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Ollis said Springfield has many quality of place initiatives to make the city more desirable for homeowners, including the Grant Avenue Parkway and daylighting of Jordan Creek.
“All of these things will drive more of an influx of homeownership into the community,” he said.
Missouri State University’s science building, built in 1971 and formerly called Temple Hall, is being reconstructed and updated.
