Menards plans second Springfield store

A regional home improvement chain with over 280 stores is planning to lay down retail roots in Springfield. Again.

Eau Claire, Wis.-based Menard Inc. officials confirmed plans to develop two stores in the Queen City.

In August, Menards signed a $4 million contract to purchase Springfield Public Schools’ former Hickory Hills School property at Chestnut Expressway and U.S. Highway 65. On Dec. 1, a spokesman for the company said plans are in the works to build a second store northwest of the Wal-Mart Supercenter at South West Bypass and West Sunshine Street.

It is unclear, however, when the new stores could be up and running.

“No official timeline has been established just yet. We’re still working through the approval process at this point,” Menards spokesman Jeff Abbott said in an emailed statement.

Abbott said the second Springfield Menards would be built at 3705 W. Sunshine St., just north of the 96-acre mixed-use Springfield Plaza development taking shape west of Wal-Mart. The company intends to build its west-side store on a vacant 40-acre lot, owned by Donald McCurry, at the northwest corner of Farm Road 129 and Sunshine Street.

Across Sunshine to the south, BioLife Plasma Services LP is building its second Queen City operation on a 3-acre lot within Springfield Plaza. The $6.5 million, nearly 17,000-square-foot building, which is expected to be complete in May, represents the first tenant for the $78 million Springfield Plaza development.

Led by Sperry Van Ness/Rankin Co. commercial brokers Tom Rankin and Jeff Childs, the L-shaped Springfield Plaza is designed to connect West Bypass and Sunshine behind the Wal-Mart store. Childs said Menards had explored building within the new mixed-use development, but ultimately decided to go a different direction.

Menards was targeted by developer Paul Larino as an anchor tenant for his Hickory Hills Marketplace project, but a deal was never solidified and Larino eventually scrapped his plans. Menards officials kept the Chestnut and U.S. 65 site on its radar and this summer bought the land from Springfield Public Schools after the district took the land back from Larino.

Abbott declined to provide additional details about either project.  

According to Greene County assessor records, the 3705 W. Sunshine St. property has a 2014 taxable appraised value of $125,600.

According to Menards.com, the 54-year-old company operates in 14 states, between Ohio, North Dakota, Wyoming and Kentucky. The closest store to Springfield is in Lake Ozark, and other Missouri locations are in Jefferson City, Columbia and Poplar Bluff.

One current project is in Kalamazoo, Mich., where construction started in April. Menards officials had announced store plans in 2012 with an undetermined timeline, according to published reports.[[In-content Ad]]