City Beat: Council approves south-side rezoning for upscale apartments

Craig Fishel: An entrance near Walnut Lawn would ease traffic concerns.

In a battle between south-side neighbors and a developer’s upscale apartment, the choice for Springfield City Council was easy.

At its Nov. 9 meeting, council members approved a rezoning proposal for 5 vacant acres north of Kickapoo High School to make way for a high-end apartment complex in spite of vocal opposition from neighbors.

The residents – five of whom spoke against plans at an Oct. 26 public hearing – gathered sufficient signatures for a protest petition, which required six affirmative votes from council. However, the administrative body easily cleared that hurdle.

Council voted 8-1 in favor of the zoning change to a low-density multifamily district from a residential townhouse district. Councilman Craig Hosmer cast the dissenting vote.

“It is my position that if this many neighbors are concerned about the location of this development, maybe we should either table this proposal or at least determine if this is something that is appropriate for that neighborhood,” Hosmer said before the vote. “When people buy their property, when they develop their property, when they invest in their property, for us to change the zoning seems a little bit unfair.”

Councilman Craig Fishel said widening Kimbrough Avenue south of Walnut Lawn Street and changing plans to put a main entrance near that intersection should alleviate traffic concerns.

“Unfortunately, it won’t be as quiet as it was. But I think they’ve done an excellent job of rerouting the traffic so it is to everybody’s advantage to go out on Walnut Lawn instead of cut through the neighborhood,” Fishel said.

Luke Warmwater Construction Inc., with developer Jason Finley of Finley Homes LLC and silent partners, requested the zoning change. Finley did not return calls for comment on the project’s timeline or costs.

The plan calls for an 83-unit upscale apartment complex designed for professionals who want to live near the Medical Mile on South National Avenue. Rental rates for the gated community would range between $850 and $1,600 per month, Finley said during the public hearing.

In addition to traffic concerns, neighbors noted stormwater runoff as a problem potentially exacerbated by development. At the Nov. 9 meeting, Finley said widening Kimbrough would include gutters and ease flooding.

Elm Street blight
Council forwarded plans for new Greek housing near Missouri State University when it adopted the redevelopment plan and blight report submitted by Lantz 1124 LLC.

All council members did not welcome the request for a blight designation on the pair of 95-year-old houses at 1124 and 1130 E. Elm St.

The bill was approved by a 6-3 vote, with Councilmen Hosmer and Mike Schilling and Councilwoman Phyllis Ferguson standing opposed.

The Planning and Zoning Commission and Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority recommended a blight designation for the properties at the southwest corner of South Florence Avenue and East Elm Street, but city staff recommended a denial ahead of the council meeting, saying evidence in the blight report was not sufficient.

According to the blight report, two adjacent houses have deteriorating or unsafe conditions, including leaky roofs, boarded up and broken windows, outdated electric wiring, termites and mold. The approved blight designation allows owners to secure 10 years of tax abatements on improvements to the properties.

Redevelopment plans call for a $2 million, three-story fraternity house for roughly 30 students. A July completion date is expected.

Developer Roger Lantz spoke at an Oct. 26 public hearing on the measure, introducing his company and project leader Greek Housing USA.

“Several years ago, we incorporated a business model to commit to a $20 million Greek Village at Missouri State. We’ve seen these all over the country in our travels,” he said, noting this would be the project’s third phase. “We started eight years ago putting the land together. We have 10 buildings on Elm Street today.”

Another property Lantz already has redeveloped at 1141 E. Elm for the Gamma Phi Beta sorority received a blight designation. Lantz said that property was in better condition than the current two houses at 1124 and 1130 E. Elm.

Noting the property looked run down both in pictures and when he drove by, Councilman Justin Burnett said council shouldn’t fluctuate in its blight criteria.

“It looks to be consistent with properties we’ve abated in the past,” he said.

Plans for new properties would provide housing for Sigma Phi Epsilon and help bring Pi Kappa Alpha and Tau Kappa Epsilon to housing on Elm Street and out of the Rountree neighborhood.   

Councilwoman Kristi Fulnecky said conditions at the house met blight levels and supported the redevelopment plan.

“I think developers want certainty and if they meet the criteria, we should give it to them,” she said of development incentives. “Those are rules adopted by council, and I’m definitely for economic development tools.”

Schilling stood opposed. “I don’t think it’s proper because it’s going to subsidize the development of a private club,” he said.

Demolition on the houses is expected to begin before the end of the month, Lantz said.