A Culture to Attract: Business leaders weigh in on Springfield’s competitive assets

The final question of Springfield Business Journal’s 2024 Economic Growth Survey asked area business leaders, “What assets of the Springfield region should be developed to better compete for businesses and talent?”

An encyclopedic set of responses to the open-ended question merited close attention. What SBJ discovered was that the ideas could be sorted into 10 discrete categories, ranging from infrastructure and safety improvements to quality of life considerations and that local theme that keeps popping up – regionalism.

For Jack Stack, president and CEO of Springfield-based SRC Holdings Corp. for more than four decades, what the city needs most is something that permeates all categories, and that is cooperation.

“I remember times when it was much easier,” he says. “The chamber, city council, utilities – everyone kind of worked on programs together and supported each other rather than having these kinds of discussions that don’t come out to anything beneficial.”

Stack says the problem is simple.

“We’re fractured,” he says. “If we work on the fractures, that’s going to help a lot of us calm down a little bit.”

It’s also important to be realistic, Stack says, as a looming and growing workforce shortage is a mathematical fact that all leaders need to be aware of.

“We’ve got to create great cultures in organizations to get more out of what we’ve got,” he says. “We’ve got to build a culture that really attracts people, or we’ve got to build somewhere else.”

Longtime architect Brandon Dake, co-owner of Dake Wells Architecture Inc., says Springfield should grow and improve, but that may a require a different attitude to move it from the category of a big town to a small city.

“The more we can encourage good, sustainable construction and revitalization of our city, the better,” he says. “If Springfield is hard to develop, then developers are going to go somewhere else where it’s easier, where it makes more sense.”

What follows are the 10 areas of urgency for local economic and talent development pinpointed by business leaders who responded to the 2024 SBJ survey.

1. Quality of life improvements. Focus on enhancing trails, sports facilities, restaurants and recreational amenities. Develop more green spaces and outdoor activities.

As director of quality of place initiatives for the city of Springfield, Tim Rosenbury spends his days contemplating the quality of life priority, specifically through the lens of place.

For Rosenbury, the Ozark Greenways system is emblematic of quality of life – and one of the greatest assets in the area.

“We need to be thinking about our trail network as a vital connector as opposed to just a luxury to facilitate getting from one recreational area to another,” he says.

Springfield has made removing gaps in the trail system – ungapping the map – one of its top priorities, and a $25 million grant received this year from the U.S. Department of Transportation has given that effort a shot in the arm. The grant is through a program called Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE. An additional 3-plus miles of trail construction promises to result in more than 25 miles of contiguity for the 140-mile trail system.

“Infrastructure, utilities, highways – all those things make living in a city possible, but parks and greenways and attractions and cool neighborhoods are the public institutions that make living in a city worthwhile,” Rosenbury says.

2. Housing and affordability. Address affordable housing, improve public transit and manage parking issues. Ensure housing is accessible to various income levels.

A shortage of housing has long been a topic of local discourse, and the needle seems to be stuck in place, according to Michelle Garand, vice president of affordable housing and homeless prevention at Community Partnership of the Ozarks Inc.

CPO focuses mostly on affordable housing for people living at or below 60%-80% of area median income, Garand says.

“For folks making just above minimum wage and of course below that, we struggle to find something that is safe, decent and affordable,” she says.

A Springfield housing study completed in late 2023 notes a deficit of about 9,000 units.

“We see people moving place to place, doubled up, living in hotels – doing whatever they can,” Garand says. “We’re seeing people making the same amount, but their rents are doubling, and the number of units is staying stagnant.”

The housing study also points to what’s referred to as a missing middle, which is housing that is affordable for many working-class people.

The housing study showed that Springfield experienced a 5% population growth from 2010-20, but homeownership declined by 17% in the same period to a level of 42%.

October reporting by SBJ cites the National Low Income Housing Coalition, which found the state had a housing shortage of 120,000 affordable and available rental homes for the over 205,000 extremely low-income households – for four-person households, that is an income of $28,580 or below.

Garand notes many people at all income levels are staying put in the housing they have, leaving few openings for people to find a way into a unit.

“If I as a middle-class person can afford $900 a month and it goes to $1,200 a month, it’s not pricing me out, and I’m not moving on,” she says.

3. Economic and business development. Attract and retain businesses with incentives, improve the business climate and develop infrastructure to support economic growth. Consider regional cooperation for broader impact.

A longtime Branson chamber employee, Jonas Arjes started last month as senior vice president of economic development for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. Arjes says he’s encouraged by the marketable sites available for development in the Springfield market.

“We have hundreds of acres that I would qualify as sites or are just a few pieces of infrastructure short of being sites,” he says. “Within that, you have private sector ownership with control of the property, with the willingness to develop, and have a history of performance and success. Some are even going through the process of getting site certified. You couldn’t ask for more, when you’re in my position, to have private sector entities that want to continue to grow and expand.”

However, job openings outpacing workers to fill them is an ongoing challenge for employers, Arjes adds.

“The companies that we do have that are growing, they need to be staffed up and need to have the right skills to meet that current demand and future demand for any expansions that they have planned,” he says.

4. Education and workforce. Strengthen educational opportunities, including trade skills and higher education alignment with local job markets.

For Hal Higdon, chancellor at Ozarks Technical Community College, boosting the workforce through educational programs and facilities has been an ongoing focus for the school, particularly in recent years. The college opened its $40 million, 120,000-square-foot Robert W. Plaster Center for Advanced Manufacturing in 2022 and is currently building an $8.3 million airframe and powerplant aviation maintenance training facility at the former Springfield-Branson National Airport terminal.

“The key to economic growth for any region is that a school that is charged with career technical training is listening to the people. And when I say the people, the business and industry, and doing exactly what they tell us they needed,” he says.

Noting Missouri typically ranks near the bottom nationally in higher education state funding, Higdon says, “We are limited in what we can do to dream big.”

5. Infrastructure and transportation. Invest in infrastructure such as roads, airports and public transportation. Improve connectivity and address traffic congestion.

Higdon says he’s appreciative of the attention the city invests in its infrastructure system.

“I laugh at local people who think that our traffic is terrible, and then I say, ‘Well, let’s go to St. Louis and drive around for the day. Or Kansas City, Denver or Dallas,’” he says.

He’s less complimentary about public transportation, noting the city needs to eventually decide if it wants a better bus system where it doesn’t take people over two hours to get to work.

“Our biggest weakness is our bus system, but I wouldn’t fault (City Utilities) for that because they’re not set up to run it successfully because it doesn’t have any local funding behind it,” he says, noting voters would have to decide if they wanted to fund public transit.

“We have the best public transit system we can with the system we have. Basically, every utility member is subsidizing the bus system, which is not ideal, but we’re not a large enough city where it can be self-sufficient,” he says.

At Springfield-Branson National Airport, officials last month cut the ribbon on a $6.7 million renovation of its general aviation terminal. That’s in addition to parking lot resurfacing and plans to reconstruct the air cargo apron and replace several aging jet bridges passengers use to board airplanes.

6. Safety and crime. Increase law enforcement, reduce crime and address homelessness. Expand judicial and correctional facilities as needed.

Most crime numbers are improving in the Queen City, despite a chronic shortage of uniformed officers in the Springfield Police Department.

At the Nov. 4 meeting of Springfield City Council, Police Chief Paul Williams gave a policing update, noting, “We seem to be experiencing a downward trend in crime across all areas after we kinda hit that high-water mark in 2020-21.”

Over a five-year period, he reported, crimes against property are down 34%, while crimes against persons are down 5%. Crimes against society – a category that includes drug offenses, an effort of increased focus by SPD officers – have risen by 19%.

While at the time of Williams’ report the department had 47 vacancies – a consistent level throughout the year – he noted some creative measures, like use of drones with cameras, lights and audio, that were helpful in crowd policing. Additionally, successful recruiting and reinstatement of retired officers are bolstering the ranks. By the end of 2026, he says he expects to be back in the area of 20-25 vacancies, as applications continue to increase.

Some cities in the region have made investments in policing. In Nixa, an early 2025 groundbreaking is planned for a $15 million police headquarters, set to open in mid-2026. Meanwhile, Branson officials are renovating two-thirds of the 65,000-square-foot former White House Theatre into a Police Department, with plans to white-box the remainder for future use. That department is at 100% staffing, city officials say.

7. Downtown and urban development. Revitalize downtown areas, improve walkability and enhance the aesthetic of public spaces. Focus on both redevelopment and new developments.

Dake says his architecture firm has called downtown home for its 20 years in business. Still, he believes the center city area needs revitalization.

“Downtown is the heart of the city. And right now, we have some great restaurants, some bars and some nightlife. It has a lot of businesses. But unless you work downtown, a lot of people don’t go downtown unless maybe it’s for Art Walk or something,” he says. “One of the big catalysts we need is more investing downtown, because if the heart of the city is healthy, then the rest of the city will kind of follow suit.”

Rusty Worley, executive director of the Downtown Springfield Association, says revitalization efforts are either underway – such as the $26 million Grant Avenue Parkway project expected to wrap next year – or about to start, which includes Renew Jordan Creek, a $32.5 million job set to begin in late fall. The latter project intends to restore the buried Jordan Creek to the surface and develop pedestrian and park features alongside it.

“There’s a lot of development opportunities that will be in that area around Renew Jordan Creek. The city made a major investment in Hammons Field, and I think that St. Louis corridor is also primed to see some new investment over the next decade,” Worley says, in reference to the city spending $16 million last year in a deal for the stadium that houses the Springfield Cardinals.

8. Regional approach. Adopt a regional strategy similar to northwest Arkansas to compete for talent and business, and leverage Springfield’s natural beauty and amenities.

Regionalism is important, the chamber’s Arjes says, adding Springfield is dependent on drawing a significant portion of its labor force from surrounding areas. While he doesn’t see the Queen City adopting a regional strategy such as northwest Arkansas, Arjes says one of his current projects is evaluating the Springfield Regional Economic Partnership, under the chamber’s economic development arm, and how best to promote regionalism among the 10 counties in its purview.

Arjes is looking at how SREP functions, engages and supports the 10-county region, which all have different levels of economic development ecosystems in their local communities.

“How can we be an asset and a resource for them? We’re putting all that together to present to the (Springfield Business Development Corp.) board, and then we will roll out a regional program in January 2025,” he says, declining to disclose additional details. “That’s in evaluation phase, for lack of a better term.”

Additionally, a new nonprofit organization with an aim on regionalism, Leaders for Ozarks Region Evolvement, or LORE, was announced earlier this year. Its focus is on workforce development, quality of life and regional branding. Dean Thompson, a City Utilities of Springfield executive and formerly with the Springfield chamber, is among those involved with LORE, along with unnamed CEOs of key companies in the region.

9. Public amenities and services. Expand recreational facilities, parks and cultural events. Enhance public amenities to attract and retain residents and visitors.

Rosenbury says Springfield has five things going for it as the core community of the Ozarks region. The city offers a high level of health care, with two major health care systems joined by other care providers. There is also higher education, including the state’s second-largest university and other institutions, and appealing older neighborhoods.

There is destination retail, too – not just Bass Pro Shops, but factors like a second Target store now under development.

“Destination retail is what brings people in from outside of town,” he says.

Rosenbury rounds out his list with Springfield’s identity as an employment center.

“While the communities around us lose people during the day, Springfield gains tens of thousands of people,” he says. “As long as we are the employment center, I think Springfield will be healthy.”

While Springfield is currently an employment center, Stack notes it is going to be crucial to keep it that way.

“We need to be talking about opportunities,” he says. “That’s probably the thing I would love to see us concentrate on, from a city perspective, a chamber perspective and a council perspective. We need to look ahead, not behind.”

Attracting and retaining both residents and visitors is crucial, Stack notes.

“How do we differentiate ourselves? What do we do to prepare for the next downtown?” he asks. “I do believe change starts at home.”

10. Marketing and branding. Promote Springfield’s unique attributes, including its outdoor lifestyle and affordability, to attract new residents and businesses.

Jeremy Wells, brand strategist and partner at marketing firm Longitude LLC, says branding – both local and regional – is rightly listed as a priority.

“Generally speaking, the purpose of thinking through a brand identification, whether for a business or a region, is to build out the purpose and the vision – what we do, why we do it, why should people care,” he says.

Springfield and the surrounding region need to uncover what it is that makes the area special, both for people who live here and people who visit, says Wells, who made progress toward this goal as a member of the Future Ozarks Foundry, a grassroots organization that endeavored to create regional branding. The process of branding a community is tricky, Wells says.

“With as many stakeholders as you have – and for regional branding, that’s every citizen in the community – you’re not going to get 100% buy-in and everyone’s going to love it,” he says.

It’s something the Springfield community experienced already with its movement to adopt a new flag, approved by City Council in 2022.

“A lot of people loved it, a lot of people didn’t, but it became our flag,” Wells says. “It’s going to be similar with regional branding. Not everyone’s going to love it – that’s the nature of the beast.”

At the heart of the issue is determining who we want to be, according to Wells. “It’s difficult, but it’s worth it if someone can figure it out,” he says.

Like Wells, Stack says branding is much more than a logo.

“I don’t like branding from an advertising standpoint, but I do like it from if our people feel good about who they are,” he says. “They need a sense of pride.”

A sense of identity is an emotional thing, Stack says.

“There’s something you want to defend, protect, talk about,” he says.

And he adds that Springfield has nothing to be ashamed of.

“I talk to everyone and tell them this is one of the greatest places in the world,” he says. “It is.”