Springfield City Council on Oct. 8 approved a redevelopment plan for the $1.6 million Bears Crossing Apartments and an accompanying blight designation request that paves the way for the student-housing complex.
Developer Wicks-Wise LLC purchased the property at the northeast corner of South National Avenue and East Belmont Street in June 2011 and requested a designation of blight based on several unsanitary and unsafe conditions, including holes in the floor and ceiling, broken windows and doors, and missing and damaged roof shingles.
With council approval in place, Wicks-Wise is slated to receive 100 percent tax abatement on improvements to the property for 10 years.
Bears Crossing, which calls for eight four-bedroom rental units and on-site parking, would replace the 11-unit residence, originally built in 1893, across from Missouri State University at 920 S. National Ave.
The student-housing proposal is the latest in a line of projects built near MSU lately. Since 2010, six student-housing apartment complexes have been constructed to address what developers see as demand for quality housing near campus.
All three of the developers behind the recently completed housing projects near MSU – Bryan Properties, Miller-O’Reilly and Beacon Student Housing – have received council approval for tax abatements.
Marc Wicks of Wicks-Wise said his construction firm, Wicks Construction LLC, would serve as general contractor of the Bears Crossing project. He said demolition of the current building would begin by late October and should be complete by mid-November. Construction should take about six months, he said.
“We’re projected to be open by the fall semester,” Wicks said.
“We’ll start our preleasing probably in June.”
Wicks-Wise has redeveloped and leased several properties in the downtown area including College Street Loft Apartments, 506 W. College St., and houses at 853 and 855 S. Campbell Ave., he said. Wicks said the company also owns Bear Mall, 940 S. National Ave., and has developed two roughly 150-unit complexes in Branson, dubbed Branson Parks Apartments and Branson Place Apartments.
“We’re happy the city saw it the same way we did – as a property that needed to be cleaned up,” Wicks said of the Springfield plan.
“Now, there’ll be something nice and new built there instead of the eyesore that is there on the corner.”
In order to receive the property tax abatement, Springfield Economic Development Director Mary Lilly Smith said Wicks-Wise would need to submit a report on the work it completes to the Land Clearance and Redevelopment Authority prior to receiving its occupancy permit. She said the LCRA would determine if the work done is consistent with the approved redevelopment plan.
Road appropriations introduced Council members held the first reading of a bill that would appropriate $17 million in projected proceeds from the 1/8-cent transportation sales tax through 2017 to allow the Public Works Department to tackle priority road improvement projects.
The bill comes to council after voters approved a renewal of the tax Aug. 7.
Public Works Director Phil Broyles said there are six major projects earmarked for the tax revenue: replacement of the Battlefield Road bridge over U.S. Highway 65 and construction of a new diverging diamond interchange, a $15 million job; construction of a Chestnut Expressway bridge over the railroad near Highway 65, $10.6 million; bridge improvements on Republic Road between Campbell Avenue and Kansas Expressway and Campbell and National avenues, $4.5 million; widening Republic Road from Scenic to Golden avenues to five lanes, $3.2 million; widening Weaver Road between National Place Boulevard and Campbell to three lanes, $2.5 million; and Mount Vernon Street and Orchard Crest Avenue intersection improvements, $1 million.
Tax revenue also would support road resurfacing, as well as sidewalk and rail crossing improvements.
“All of the money will be leveraged with federal, state, county and developer transportation funds to bring together more than $45 million for road improvements,” Broyles said.
He said plans for the projects are still in the works, and it likely would be a year before highway contractors could bid on the work.
Broyles said the tax has been renewed by at least 80 percent of voters every four years since its original approval in 1996. According to results posted on
GreeneCountyMo.org, the transportation tax was approved this year by 80.4 percent of voters.
The measure is scheduled to receive a second reading and vote at the Oct. 22 council meeting.
