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TLC proposes $10M project in Galloway redevelopment plan

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Springfield City Council last night held a public hearing on plans that would declare 74 acres blighted in the Galloway Village area in an effort to spur commercial and residential investment in the area. The initiative was prompted by Sam M. Coryell, a developer with TLC Properties, who said council’s approval would pave the way for a $10 million apartment project near Sequiota Park.

Coryell, who addressed council as a speaker, said he bought seven acres in the area in 2008, but hasn’t been able to start building, partly because of the high cost of developing in the area.

“There were several roadblocks including the cost-prohibitive nature of the land,” Coryell said.

He said steep inclines and rocky soil northwest of the park made development a more-expensive proposition than he realized, and a sluggish economy also stalled plans.

“We kept getting ‘no’ from lenders,” Coryell added.

After talks with city economic development staff, a plan to declare blighted the areas north and south of Sequiota Park was drafted to address a number of issues. Springfield Economic Development Director Mary Lilly Smith said because the village of Galloway was its own community for about 80 years, several blight issues such as obsolete platting and deficient street layout exist in the area. In addition, she said there are four vacant properties within the proposed redevelopment zone and a host of unsanitary and unsafe conditions, meeting requirements for the declaration of blight.

If the plan is approved by council at the April 28 meeting, property owners who spend more than $100,000 on improvements in the area would be eligible for 100 percent tax abatement on those improvements for 10 years.

One vocal critic of the plan was Councilman Craig Hosmer.

“West Springfield has house after house after house that meets this definition of blight. We give these property tax abatements to some of the wealthiest people in Springfield,” Hosmer said. “To me, it seems we should be doing something for these communities where the average homeowner needs help.”

Husch Blackwell attorney Shawn Whitney, who drafted the redevelopment plan on behalf of Coryell, said the plan, which includes 41 parcels, is designed to be tax neutral.

“Nothing is coming off the tax roles,” Whitney said at the meeting, pointing out the abatements would be on new improvements only. “If this was a financial windfall for developers, then the area would already have new development.”

One speaker in favor of the plans was Billy Jalili, co-owner of Touch and Flame restaurants in Springfield. He said he’s considering buying two acres in the redevelopment area for a restaurant site, but wouldn’t make a move until the redevelopment plan is in place due to the high cost he anticipates with development.

Coryell said he pays roughly $8,000 a year on property taxes, and he estimated the 138-unit apartment complex would push annual taxes to around $75,000 without the abatement. That puts the value of the abatement on his property to around $670,000 over 10 years.

No speakers opposed the plans at the meeting. A second reading on the proposal and vote is scheduled April 28.[[In-content Ad]]

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