FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A plan to breathe new life into Kearney Street and spur redevelopment will itself get a fresh start as the City’s Workforce & Economic Vitality Department staff work to reestablish the 2018 Kearney Street Corridor Redevelopment Plan, which expired in 2023 due to sunset provisions requiring City Council approval every five years.
The redevelopment area is a 3.5-mile section of Kearney Street, from North Albertha Avenue just west of Kansas Expressway Avenue to a point approximately 900 feet east of North Glenstone Avenue, generally extending 300 feet north and south of the street. Registered neighborhoods adjacent to the corridor are Tom Watkins, Woodland Heights, Robberson and Doling.
The City will host a meeting to collect public input for the amended redevelopment plan 6-7 p.m. Tuesday, June 24 at the Doling Park Northview Center, 305 W. Talmage. Neighbors, business owners, developers and anyone interested are invited to review the successes of the 2018 plan and share ideas for improvements.
To date, seven redevelopment projects have been completed using Missouri’s “Chapter 99” real property tax abatement incentive. (Per state law, qualifying redevelopment projects may receive real property tax abatement on 100% of the assessed value of the new construction or rehabilitation for 10 years.)
- Glendalough Convention Center (DoubleTree Hotel), 2431 N. Glenstone Ave.
- Retail center (former Buckingham’s site), 2415 N. Glenstone Ave.
- BigShots Golf, 1930 E. Kearney St.
- Long Drive Center (retail center adjacent to Big Shots), 1845 E. Turner St.
- Chick-fil-A, 2355 N. Glenstone Ave.
- Whataburger, 2337 N. Glenstone Ave.
- MMC Fencing & Railing, 1900 W. Kearney St.
“Our primary objective is to reestablish the redevelopment plan so we can remove barriers toward accessing incentives to encourage development along the Kearney Street Corridor. We are also using this as an opportunity to update the plan, aligning it with the community-driven goals of the Forward SGF Comprehensive Plan and the new development code going into effect next year,” said Senior City Planner Matt Schaefer.
In addition to the public engagement, Workforce & Economic Vitality staff are updating the blight report, required under Springfield’s Workable Program. The Workable Program establishes a plan of action for dealing with blighted areas in the city and includes a framework for evaluating redevelopment proposals that involve real property tax abatement.
Director of Workforce & Economic Vitality Amanda Ohlensehlen said she hopes to get an ordinance to amend the plan before council in September.
“Promoting reinvestment in Springfield’s commercial corridors and gateways is a key initiative of the economic development chapter of Forward SGF,” Ohlensehlen said. “As we implement our updated development codes in the coming year, this is good timing to take a fresh look at how we incentivize redevelopment, especially along this particular corridor.”
Background
In 2017, at the direction of City Council, the City hired PGAV Planners using a competitive selection process to conduct a market study of the Kearney Street corridor (from Glenstone Avenue to Kansas Expressway) in response to citizen concerns to disinvestment and blight along the corridor.
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the most appropriate economic development incentives to revive retail activity in the area. PGAV conducted a three-phase retail market feasibility study, which included market research and analysis, site prioritization planning, and strategies and incentives planning.
Public input was collected via surveys as well as a public meeting at the Library Station on Jan. 20, 2017. PGAV presented Phase 1 initial findings to City Council on Feb. 7, 2017 and final recommendations to City Council on April 25, 2017.
PGAV’s Kearney Street Corridor Study report was accepted by City Council resolution and is the final product of PGAV’s work on this project. With regard to economic development incentives, PGAV recommended establishment of a Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority (Chapter 99) redevelopment area to provide 10-year partial property tax abatement incentives for new improvements within the corridor that substantially comply with the redevelopment plan for the area.
PGAV also recommended establishment of a Community Improvement District (CID) that could provide additional safety, image enhancement, and placemaking functions within the study area.
There are currently two CIDs at each end of the redevelopment area – the Glenstone and Kearney CID, established in 2020 and amended in 2022, and the Kansas and Kearney CID, established in 2019.
Following PGAV’s study, council directed City staff to draft the redevelopment plan. Staff solicited input for the plan at two public meetings in August and September 2017.
Key themes from public input meetings were:
- Expanded dining, shopping, and entertainment options
- Historic Route 66 heritage as an economic driver
- Placemaking enhancements.
Two of the Top 10 Initiatives of Forward SGF are using a place-based approach to development and reinvestment and the beautification of Springfield’s commercial corridors.
The Kearney Street Corridor is adjacent to one of the last original sections of historic Route 66 in Springfield and now serves as an access road between the Maverik station at Glenstone Avenue and Kearney Street and BigShots Golf. The road is marked with a Historic Missouri Route 66 Byway sign.
City Council unanimously approved the Kearney Street Corridor Redevelopment Plan by ordinance July 16, 2018.
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For more information, or to arrange interviews, please contact Melissa Hart at 417-536-7648.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
