Kum & Go replacing West Sunshine store

West Des Moines, Iowa-based Kum & Go LC recently closed its West Sunshine Street store to make way for its Marketplace concept.

Kum & Go spokeswoman Katie Bell said the company is demolishing the 2650 W. Sunshine St. building, where it will erect its newer store type that includes indoor and outdoor seating, an open kitchen layout, device charging stations and complimentary Wi-Fi.

“Generally, when we do a raze and rebuild where we knock a store down, it’s because it’s in a great location,” Bell said. “It requires us to take the store out of commission for the time of construction.”

In other cases, such as at Chestnut Expressway and West Bypass, Kum & Go has kept an existing store open while a Marketplace is built nearby.

Bell said the planned 6,200-square-foot store on West Sunshine should open by year’s end. She declined to disclose the company’s investment in the project. The Marketplace stores typically run $4 million-$5 million in development costs, according to Springfield Business Journal archives. Springfield Building Development Services Director Chris Straw said the estimated cost is $1.8 million.

Bell said general contractor S&W Construction will break ground next month on the project designed by BRR Architecture.

In the Springfield area, Kum & Go operates 46 stores, the large majority of the 70 stores in Missouri. The convenience store chain is investing $30.5 million in the Springfield-area market, company officials have said.

Springfield City Council in February approved the rezoning of 2 acres at National Avenue and Walnut Lawn Street for redevelopment of a Kum & Go. A city building permit indicates a new Kum & Go is planned for the site.