CFO shares parking garage with theatergoers

Theatergoers attending Springfield Little Theatre’s production of “Come From Away” had a new option for parking for the Jan. 30-Feb. 15 show run, thanks to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks Inc.

The CFO moved into a new headquarters it had purchased at 300 S. Jefferson Ave. in August 2025. The building purchase included a 221-spot parking garage that the foundation and its tenants in the office building have little use for during nighttime hours.

Google Maps says the distance from garage to theater door is one-tenth of a mile – a 3-minute walk north on Jefferson Avenue and west half a block to The Historic Landers Theatre at 311 E. Walnut St.

That solves a problem SLT Executive Director Beth Domann described in April 2024 in a Springfield Business Journal news report on downtown parking.

Domann said at the time that theater patrons struggled to find nearby parking, and that’s especially difficult for audience members who are older or have mobility problems.

“Parking is really a pickle,” she said at the time.

The 527-seat Historic Landers Theatre has a parking garage on the back side of the block where it’s located, as previously reported, and it is accessible for pedestrians by an alley, South Robberson Avenue, that is not equipped with a sidewalk. Some businesses nearby have also allowed parking, but many audience members were left to roam downtown in a search for on-street parking.

Domann said at the time that if an audience member gets towed once, the theater kind of loses its luster.

In an interview for this story, Domann said SLT board Vice President Seth Swafford was the person who had the idea to contact CFO, which said it would be willing to work with SLT on the parking issue.

Starting in January, Domann said, SLT has hired someone to staff the parking garage and take payment of $5 per car for those who wish to use the CFO facility. The fee can even be paid for in advance, she said, at the time of an online ticket purchase. On-site, people can pay with either cash or a credit or debit card.

The money is used to cover SLT costs, including the garage monitor, and part of the money collected will go to CFO for them to keep the garage clean and maintained, Domann said.

Asked if that solves SLT’s parking problem, Domann said, “It does!” She added, “It gives people an opportunity to use another parking garage, to walk not very far. It helps tremendously.”

The garage has received good reviews from those who have taken advantage of it, according to Domann. Right now, that is averaging about 50 cars per weekend, but she anticipates the number of people using the lot to grow as word gets out.

“It’s a pilot, so everyone’s learning as we go,” she said. “We’re figuring it out.”

The pilot agreement will last through SLT’s current season, she said, and any kinks will be worked out as the parties go along.

Matt Lemmon, vice president of communications for CFO, said the foundation is glad to help SLT.

“We know that parking is a valuable resource downtown,” he said. “We wanted to be good neighbors with that space and make sure that it is and remains a community asset that’s well taken care of and accessible.”

Lemmon declined to disclose the terms of the arrangement with SLT, noting they are still being worked out, though Domann said she thought it would be something like a percentage paid per car.

Lemmon said formal agreements will come if the arrangement moves forward.

“Because this is the first run, we just want to see how it runs and go from there,” he said.

The partnership feels like one that is appropriate for CFO, Lemmon said.

“We’ve got lots of great neighbors and great partners downtown. It feels on-mission for the Community Foundation of the Ozarks to find ways to make parking for their patrons or whoever it is easier and better,” he said.

A city parking study by Walker Consultants Inc. found in an August 2023 study that downtown parking is plentiful, according to past SBJ reporting, which showed 64% availability in the peak weekday hour of 10-11 a.m. – and 70% for public parking spots.

Still, people talk about limitations in parking, and Lemmon said CFO has heard some of that discussion.

“When you own a parking garage, you become part of that conversation,” he said.

Editor’s note: Springfield Business Journal Executive Editor Christine Temple is president of the Springfield Little Theatre Board of Directors. She did not contribute to this story.