Springfield City Council last night unanimously approved a bill to establish a community improvement district for the $78.5 million retail and office complex at the western edge of town dubbed Springfield Plaza.
The CID allows developers – led by commercial real estate brokers Tom Rankin and Jeff Childs through Springfield Plaza Real Estate LLC – to move forward with their plans to assess a half-cent sales tax to help cover a nearly $10 million tab for the development’s infrastructure.
At council’s Sept. 28 public hearing, Rankin said the developers had spent $1.8 million so far on infrastructure for the 96-acre Springfield Plaza, which is southwest of West Bypass and Sunshine Street behind the Wal-Mart Supercenter at 3520 W. Sunshine St.
Councilwoman Kristi Fulnecky said she was pleased to support the project.
“I’m very excited to vote on this. Springfield Plaza will be important to growth on the west side, and this could potentially bring hundreds of jobs to Springfield and millions of dollars in sales tax revenue,” Fulnecky said. “It’s a great project.”
The CID would have a maximum life of 50 years, and administrators would be able to collect up to a 1-cent sales tax to reimburse infrastructure.
Rankin has said he anticipates the CID – which will work in conjunction with a tax increment financing district approved by council in 2013 – to be in place for no more than 18 years and to collect only a half-cent sales tax.
Rankin said it was too soon to say how much money the development could generate, but felt the 150,000 square feet he expects to develop for retail could bring in $30 million to $40 million in annual sales.
