A downtown Springfield building constructed before the turn of the 20th century is getting new life.
Businessperson Shawn Turner said he's developing the building at 320 W. Walnut St. through Turner OZ Fund LLC. He declined to disclose his planned investment in renovations and the building purchase.
Turner said 16 apartment units are planned on the second and third floors of the 20,000-square-foot building, with ground-floor retail envisioned. He said he's working to establish the building as a historic place, and he's utilizing incentives offered through its location in an opportunity zone – the OZ in the LLC name.
"Anything in the building that is intact is something that we're preserving," Turner said, noting the building has old weights, ropes and other relics from the past. "The mix of the new stuff with keeping the older stuff that's in there creates a pretty diverse environment."
The building first was used by farm store Koenigsbruk & Boehmer when it was constructed around 1890, Turner said, noting other uses have included seed and furniture shops.
"A lot of stuff is intact, like the wood floors. We're just going to restore what's there," he said.
A late spring or early summer opening in 2025 is projected, Turner said. The building would be named after Koenigsbruk & Boehmer in a nod to its history.
"It's a unique opportunity," he said. "It's a labor of love."
Turner, who has experience in residential and commercial real estate, said Wolf Building & Development Inc., one of his companies, is serving as general contractor for the renovation project.
Wolf Building & Development shares a home base with homebuilder Wolf Residential LLC, another of Turner's companies, at 328 South Ave. There, a mural of ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu was installed on the black-painted building in 2019, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. Turner also works as a real estate agent through Murney Associates, Realtors.
Turner OZ Fund LLC purchased the planned apartment building at Walnut and Campbell Avenue in late 2023 from Northern States Properties LLC, according to records on file with the offices of the Greene County assessor and Greene County recorder. A December 2023 deed of trust lists a note amount of $1.5 million between Turner OZ Fund and Central Bank.