BK&M proposes office designation for corner of Sunshine and National

Developer Ralph Duda wants to divest his company of the 2.6-acre property it owns at the corner of Sunshine Street and National Avenue.

A proposed rezoning of the property to an office designation from its current single-family residential status could make the property more salable. However, the University Heights Neighborhood Association stands unanimously opposed to the move.

At a neighborhood meeting on the rezoning Aug. 21, Duda was asked by University Heights residents if his intention is to sell. The BK&M LLC partner who has served as the company’s spokesperson confirmed that’s his current goal.

“I’ve exhausted all efforts for us to develop it ourselves,” Duda said. “I hope we have someone come in and want us to develop it for them – we’re open to that – but I have no intention to develop the property.”

The meeting was conducted by Chris Wynn, senior engineer and environmental scientist for CJW Transportation Consultants LLC, a consultant to BK&M.

Wynn outlined the newest proposal, which is to rezone the corner to an Office 2 designation with a conditional overlay district.

As recently as one day before the meeting, BK&M had planned to propose a general retail designation for the property, and that was the proposed change neighborhood residents were alerted to via a mailed meeting notice dated Aug. 8. As a result, some expressed confusion about the Office 2 proposal being presented.

Wynn said the restrictions being voluntarily offered by BK&M had already brought them pretty close to O2 zoning, which could be achieved simply by removing the few remaining allowed retail and entertainment uses.

Wynn said the most likely uses would be a general or medical office or an assisted living facility. 

The proposed O2 designation allows 10 uses under city code:

• A continued use or replacement of residential dwellings
• Community gardens
• Educational, religious, cultural, public and nonprofit institutions
• General offices
• Medical offices
• Nursing and retirement homes
• Public and private parks and playgrounds
• Residential uses above the first floor or behind nonresidential uses to create a continuous nonresidential facade
• Retail sales limited to 10% of an office building
• Short-term rentals limited to 30 days

The most likely options – identified as something like an optometrist’s or architectural office or nursing home – signal a departure from BK&M’s earlier vision for the property. In 2024 Duda said Trader Joe’s had completed a site visit and engaged in negotiations with his team. Contacted at the time, Trader Joe’s would not confirm that Springfield was under consideration for a store location.

Previous ideas for the site also included a food hall with pickleball courts and a boutique grocery store.

Neighborhood objection
Reached by email, UHNA President Maggie Castrey said the association board unanimously opposes the rezoning proposal, and she passed along a detailed statement explaining the neighborhood concerns.

“Too often they have been dismissed as ‘complaints,’ when they have been carefully thought out and based on thorough study of Forward SGF, City Council review criteria and the Sunshine corridor study,” she said. Forward SGF is the city’s current comprehensive plan.

Added Castrey, “This has implications for all neighborhoods in the city.”

The UHNA statement called on P&Z and council to reject the rezoning request pending the results of the Sunshine corridor study.

“The study encompasses every inch of our neighborhood and seeks to develop a coherent approach to managing three miles of a major street,” the statement says. “The last thing we need is hasty rezoning that could easily conflict with the study’s recommendations.”

The corridor study formally kicked off with a public open house in June. It is expected to be completed in early 2026, according to the project website.

At the neighborhood meeting, Resident Jeff Vandenberg also said the rezoning should wait until the study is completed.

“Wait until we receive a cohesive, comprehensive look at what that zone is going to be like, that corridor’s going to be like, and then that’s going to give great direction to anyone who wants to do anything with that property,” he said. “I’m afraid we’re doing it in the reverse direction … and then the whole point of the development planning process goes away because it’s just done.”

The board statement maintained that there is not a compelling need for the city to rezone the property in question in order to achieve a viable economic use.

“We welcome improvement options that would not require rezoning, such as a park, gardens, church or community space and more,” the statement says. Those uses are permitted under the city’s single-family residential zoning classification, according to that section of city code.

The statement continues by saying that the city does not have an obligation to accommodate the developer, which it describes as “a speculator who seeks to undermine a neighborhood.”

The statement adds that Forward SGF talks about the importance of preserving traditional neighborhoods, and it states that spot rezoning would accelerate a domino effect of further rezoning on Sunshine.

“Neighborhood homeowners have invested far more into their properties than BK&M has, and we should be equally valued as investors in the city,” the statement reads.

Rocky relations
Duda said little during the neighborhood meeting, which was attended by some 60 people, including Springfield City Council member Bruce Adib-Yazdi, who represents the neighborhood’s Council Zone 4, and Dan Scott, a member of the Planning & Zoning Commission.

A few feet away from Duda sat Dixie Sleight, lead plaintiff of Dixie Sleight et al. v. BK&M LLC et al., a case that is currently under appeal. Last year, 31st Judicial Circuit Judge Derek Ankrom ruled for Duda’s team that neighborhood deed restrictions banning commercial development were not enforceable.

The people who gathered had a history, with numerous attendees having participated in previous neighborhood meetings stretching back to Aug. 18, 2022. That’s when Duda and his partner Anthony Tolliver first introduced themselves and distributed stapled-together handouts listing multiple ideas for a mixed-use establishment.

That lack of specificity was deliberate, the developers said at the time. Tolliver said the purpose of the meeting was to brainstorm with neighborhood residents.

Duda agreed: The two sought to engage, he said during that first meeting, adding, “We want to build something that fits the character of University Heights.”

The handout at that first meeting said BK&M wanted to build something positive for the city. Options listed included “professional office space,” a “fun restaurant” or “medical.”

Yesterday’s meeting made it clear that many neighborhood residents still want the property’s designation to remain single-family residential. One person in the audience said any nonresidential use opens the entire neighborhood up to more of the same.

Zoning has been the bugaboo for the development, with the most recent general retail rezoning request denied via a 4-4 vote of City Council in October 2024, with former Councilmember Matthew Simpson recusing himself from the vote.

Wynn acknowledged that has been frustrating for Duda’s team.

“I don’t necessarily want to speak for Ralph, but I’d say if he could do it all over again, he would probably approach it differently,” said Wynn. “I guess I am speaking for Ralph. Let’s just say, in general, looking at the situation, looking how it’s come out, looking back on it, maybe it would have been nice to get the zoning before he closed on the properties.”

At this point, Wynn said, BK&M is trying to work with the neighborhood, with concessions including donated right-of-way, sidewalk easements and more.

“We’re trying to make an effort to make this development work,” Wynn said.

Some neighborhood residents described BK&M as predatory.

“To look at a map and see this house, this house, this house … and say if I can have all those, what a great place to develop,” said Sara Hollis at the meeting. “To have that kind of vision before it’s zoned properly to do that is, in fact, predatory. There’s no other way to describe it.”

Duda countered that 70,000 cars pass the site daily, leading Hollis to ask why the number of cars is the issue.

“Because that’s what has caused this. Traffic has caused this situation,” Duda said.

Hollis said, “You’re making the situation worse, then.”

Duda replied, “No, I think I’m actually going to be improving the situation for the neighborhood and the city of Springfield.”

About 40 minutes into the meeting, Duda stood to leave, telling Wynn he could finish the meeting without him.

“I’m doing the best I can,” he said as he strode toward the door. “I’ve been called a predator; I’ve been called naive. You know, I’ve had enough. Three years of this? I’ll talk to you later.”

The rezoning is scheduled to go in front of the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission Sept. 11 before hitting the City Council agenda for a first reading and public hearing in October.