Airport Plaza to transform city's northwest

Situated on land that used to produce peach trees, Airport Plaza Development Group LLC has deemed the property ripe for development.

Airport Plaza at the Orchard is a project of the group’s owners: Kevin Carleton, Galen Pellham, and the land’s owners – Charlie Gott, Leroy Gott and their sister, Jeanie Corn.

The property will accommodate a variety of enterprises, said Pellham, the CJR Commercial Realtor who is marketing the development. Retail, restaurants, offices, two hotels, an apartment complex, a large-box retailer, a bank and a convenience store are either awaiting building permits or have shown interest in locating there, Pellham said.

Property prices range from about $7.50 a square foot for frontage along Kearney to about $3.50 to $4.50 for property along I-44, Pellham said. The lease rate for office space will be in the $12 to $13.50 range, he added.

Creating a “themed development” rather than just selling lots to various users is the concept behind the project, said Shawn Fink, project manager with Carleton & Company, general contractor for the commercial structures.

“We’re really trying to create a civic destination with specialty retail shops, eateries (and) lodging to cater to northwest Springfield,” said Bob Stockdale, architect with Creative Ink Architects LLC. Building covenants governing roof profiles and roof building materials, exterior colors, coordinated signage and landscaping will ensure the “cohesive spirit of the development,” he added.

600 apartments

The largest project scheduled so far is a more than 600-unit apartment complex. The as yet unnamed apartment complex is the project of Sam Coryell and his son, Sam Jr., in partnership with Paul White and his brother, John. The four partners will serve as general contractors for the project; the architect is H-Design Group.

Groundbreaking could begin as early as the end of the year pending rezoning of the land from highway commercial to residential use, said Paul White. Both Sam Coryell Sr. and White agree the complex’s first tenants could be moved in as early as next summer with the project completed by the summer of 2006.

The cost for construction will be about $28 million, White said. At $1.89 a square foot, the land cost about $ 2 million, he added.

Ongoing talks with the city will determine the density of development. “They may permit us more units per acre, but we would be going through a planned development process as opposed to straight-out zoning,” said Ken Schwab, Wilhoit Properties’ manager, who represented Coryell and White on the land buy.

Based on communications with city officials, rezoning the apartment site to “residential high density” shouldn’t be a problem, since the entire area is a planned development mixing commercial and residential, said Brent Stevens, principal with H Design Group.

Apartment units will range from studios to 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom units renting for $395 to $695 a month; amenities will include a swimming pool, fitness center, high-speed Internet and cable, White said.

Retail and office

Pending city building permit approval, Cody’s convenience store will be going in just west of the entrance on Airport Plaza Drive, the main north-south artery running through the property. The 4,000-square-foot retail outlet will carry Phillip’s 66 fuel, said Curtis Jared, vice president of CRW Properties, the firm behind the project.

Undergoing construction concurrent with Cody’s will be an 8,000-square-foot retail strip center with at least six bays, Jared said, declining to disclose construction costs of either building. The general contractor for the project is Missouri Supermarket Builders; the architect is Bates & Associates Inc., he added.

Additionally, a new facility for Transportation Security Administration, is nearing completion. The federal agency, which will move from the Springfield-Branson Regional Airport where it oversees airport security, will occupy 4,300 square feet and should be relocated in about four months, Fink said.

Lodging

According to the site’s master plan, flanking Airport Plaza Drive will be a 92-room hotel and a 60-room motel. The 92-room hotel will be owned and operated by HJ Lodging, said Greg Walker, president, who estimated the cost to build at $4.5 million. He also has an option on the site’s second hotel location. Cost for that facility would run about $3.6 million, he added.

Walker would not disclose the brand of the incoming hotel, but added it will not be a Howard Johnson. Walker owns the Howard Johnson on South Campbell.

“We’ve signed a franchise agreement, but we’re still in negotiations with another franchise,” Walker said.

Negotiations also are under way with two restaurant franchises and a bank, said Pellham, who could not disclose further identification. Additionally, along I-44, there is a space for a large-box retailer, he said, adding no entity is presently seeking the space.