City Beat: Council forwards plans for second Hy-Vee

Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee Inc. now has an open door to develop its second grocery store in Springfield after City Council’s Nov. 5 rezoning in the 2100 block of East Sunshine Street.

By a 7-1 vote, council advanced plans for a $12.7 million expansive grocery store despite pleas from nearby residents who sought to maintain the character of their neighborhood. The move rezones 10.5 acres of wooded land on East Sunshine to general retail from single-family residential, paving the way for the grocer’s plans.

A majority of council appeared swayed by arguments from a handful of speakers at the Oct. 22 public hearing that called for city leaders to send a message to the development community that the city is open for business. Several business owners and developer representatives warned council members that the city’s reputation was on the line if a zoning change on a major thoroughfare wasn’t approved. However, 21 of the 33 speakers at the public hearing opposed the plans, arguing the 85,000-square-foot store posed noise, safety and flooding issues and would likely decrease property values in the 60-year-old neighborhood just south of the proposed site.

Councilman Jerry Compton said the rezoning is in line with Springfield’s comprehensive development plan, and by filling in a vacant lot within city limits, the move supports local taxes without stretching city services.

“Planning and zoning [actions] should be used to promote orderly growth, not prevent development,” Compton said.

Councilman Scott Bailes, the only council member to vote against the zoning change, said he had lived in the nearby neighborhood for about a dozen years, and he felt someone needed to fight for the residents’ interests.

“We’re supposed to protect residents,” Bailes said, holding a roughly 3-inch stack of letters from residents asking him to vote against the Hy-Vee proposal.

Bailes said he felt the store would hurt property values and steal business from other area grocers. The Hy-Vee site is a mile west of Dillions, a longtime operator at 2843 E. Sunshine St., and roughly a mile southeast from the 1320 S. Glenstone Ave. Walmart Neighborhood Market that opened in May. Price Cutter closed its East Sunshine supermarket earlier this year, as did Smillie’s Market across the street from the Walmart store.

Councilman Doug Burlison said it was important for council to “send the right message” to the development community. He said if businesses meet the requirements of city planners, work with neighbors to address concerns and receive approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission, they ought to be able to build in Springfield. “Most of us were elected on the promise of doing what we can to create jobs,” Burlison said. “The city’s reputation is in jeopardy here.”

At the Oct. 22 meeting, Peter Hosch, assistant vice president of real estate for Hy-Vee, said the company has agreed to erect a 6-foot-tall fence between the store and neighbors on Washita Street, increase the buffer zone and work to save existing trees on the property, a concern of several neighbors. He said Hy-Vee plans to hire 100 full-time and nearly 300 part-time workers for the store. Currently, Hy-Vee is negotiating a land purchase with Jewell Schweitzer, who said last month the sale of the property just west of the Commerce Terrace office complex could move forward after zoning approval.

Schweitzer did not return calls for comment by press time.

A year ago, Hy-Vee opened its first Springfield location – a $17 million, 86,000-square-foot store on 14 acres at Kansas Expressway and Battlefield Road for which council supported a community improvement district that assesses a 1/2-cent sales tax to fund infrastructure improvements. The company has not sought development incentives in its latest proposal, said Springfield Economic Development Director Mary Lilly Smith.

Landmark changes
Council reviewed a $9 million redevelopment plan that would allow for 25 years of tax abatement on improvements to the 76,000-square-foot Landmark building at Olive Street and Jefferson Avenue.

The Frisco Redevelopment Corp., under the direction of Matt Miller, plans to convert the 102-year-old office building into a 68-unit affordable housing apartment complex that would include an outdoor pool, covered parking and accessibility to persons with disabilities.

In the redevelopment proposal, Frisco Redevelopment submitted evidence of blight, which is necessary to receive tax abatement under state statutes. Blighted conditions on the property include chipped and deteriorating bricks around the upper exterior of the building, crumbling mortar, a large crack in the southeast corner of the building, broken windows and a roof in disrepair, according to the report. The plan calls for 100 percent tax abatement on improvements for 10 years, and then 50 percent abatement on improvements for the next 15 years. Smith said the developer also has requested Greene County assess the property at a lower residential rate during the redevelopment period.

Husch Blackwell LLP attorney Shawn Whitney, who represented Frisco Redevelopment, said the project would meet a need for affordable housing in the city and replace the blight at the office building that has suffered from a bad reputation since a prostitution ring was uncovered by authorities there last year. He said the building is currently 37 percent occupied, down from more than 50 percent occupied a year ago.

Whitney said Miller – who is known for redevelopment work at Founders Park Lofts, Brick City and Wilhoit Plaza – expects the project could be complete by 2014 if council approves the plan Nov. 19. Whitney said the project is largely being financed with the promise of a combination of federal and state low-income housing tax credits and historic tax credits.[[In-content Ad]]