Hammons land purchase approved; hotel project delayed

John Q. Hammons has officially purchased the land for his planned downtown Springfield hotel, but the developer is postponing construction because of the tightening financial market.

Springfield City Council approved the $7 million sale of the Jordan Valley Car Park and neighboring land on St. Louis Street, along with amendments to the development and purchase agreements between Hammons and the city for the site.

The original development agreement called for Hammons to begin construction on a 150-room hotel within 60 days of closing on the land. The new agreement, however, gives Hammons until April 1, 2010, to begin construction.

Scott Tarwater, senior vice president of development for Springfield-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, told council the reason for the delay is difficulty obtaining financing for the $50 million project.

"We used to do this blindfolded," Tarwater said. "But those (funding sources) that are still working are afraid of their shadow, and those that we used to deal with, many of them, are now unemployed. The system is clogged ... and we think it will take this amount of time for us to reasonably fund a $50 million project."

In separate items on the agenda, council approved the creation of an industrial development plan for the hotel project, a procedural move that allows the city to abate 100 percent of the incremental property tax for the first 10 years and 50 percent for an additional 15 years.

See SBJ's Oct. 6 issue for more on both Springfield City Council and the local impact of the tightening credit market.[[In-content Ad]]