It appears the developer of a debated $6 million student-focused apartment complex at the northern edge of the historic Rountree neighborhood is moving forward with his plans after all.
Developer Russell Meck of RKJ Properties LLC told Springfield Business Journal in November the project was on hold due to increased construction costs, but bidding website GradeBeam.com lists a bid request from contractor Larry Snyder & Co. for the East Cherry Flats project, according to information provided by the Rountree Neighborhood Association. The request is for a bid on window treatments for the complex, and the bid due date is listed as Dec. 31, 2014. Larry Snyder President Dusty Emmert declined a request for an interview, citing Meck’s desire to not speak publicly about the project’s status.
Meck, who did not return a call and email for comment by deadline today,
said last year he had put the brakes on the project one week after securing $385,000 in estimated tax abatements following Springfield City Council’s 5-2 vote on Nov. 10 to approve Meck’s redevelopment plan.
“It looks like construction costs have risen almost 30 percent since the inception of this idea for a building. Therefore, I will not be doing the project at this time,” Meck said in a November email to SBJ. “I’m sorry, but it looks like I wasted a lot of people’s time.”
The Rountree Neighborhood Association has opposed the plans, saying the four-story building would be too close to Cherry Street and didn’t fit with the character of the neighborhood. In addition, RNA representatives told council during the plan’s public hearing that Meck had owned the run-down property for 10 years and therefore wasn’t a good candidate for available tax incentives. The association collected signatures from some 400 residents opposing tax abatements for the project.
Association Board Secretary Diana Day said she is not surprised the developer appears to be moving forward with plans. She said the RNA is not opposed to development in the neighborhood, but the group is working to find a way to ensure that future projects fit with its character.
“We’ve known that buildings like this are going to happen in our neighborhood, but we are just trying – unsuccessfully at this point – to get with the city, developers and with whoever might have an interest in the area to work out a really solid plan going forward,” Day said. “We are trying to talk to anyone and everyone about this so we make sure we are actually thinking about the future of this neighborhood.”
