City Beat: Hotel plan receives opposition

Millwood Park residents turned out in force at Springfield City Council on July 30 to oppose a planned development of a 106-room Hampton Inn between U.S. Highway 65 and Farmer’s Branch Road, just south of Evans Road.

Eleven neighbors of the proposed hotel and one attorney representing the developer of Millwood Park – a 34-home neighborhood just south of Millwood Golf Community – asked council members to reject a proposed zoning change for the planned hotel.

Millwood Park homeowners’ association President Norbert Laengrich said 134 people in Millwood Park and nearby neighborhoods have signed a petition against a $6 million hotel proposal by developer Earl Steinert.

Laengrich said commercial development along Highway 65 is no surprise, but a five-floor hotel would not be a welcome neighbor.

“Anything would be better than a 70-foot wall of strangers,” Laengrich said.

Representing Millwood Park developer David Harper, Husch Blackwell attorney Mike Nichols said Harper invested millions of dollars in the neighborhood assuming the zoning was in place to prevent a structure from towering over the neighborhood. The current zoning allows for commercial development such as a retail strip center or a smaller hotel.

“I’m not opposed to economic development,” Nichols told council. “I represent developers every day. But what we need is responsible development.”

The rezoning would increase the floor area ratio and decrease the buffer zone from the structure to the road by 15 feet, allowing Steinert to move forward with his Hampton Inn & Suites. Steinert owns and operates two Hampton Inn properties in Springfield.

Stanley Dyer was among Millwood Park residents who said the hotel would intrude on the privacy of nearby homeowners and could have a negative impact on property values. “Would you purchase your property with a structure such as this in your backyard?” Dyer said.

A few business community members – including 40-year construction veteran Howard Bailey of general contractor Bailey Co. – spoke in favor of the plans.

“It’s not bad to have a hotel as a neighbor,” Bailey said, adding that his company built the Sleep Inn off James River Freeway but is not involved with Steinert’s Hampton Inn.

Architect Larry Phillips of Pellham Phillips Architects Engineers earned a chorus of moans from the overflow crowd after Councilman John Rush asked about a parent’s concern he received prior to the meeting. According to Rush, the parent had a 7-year-old who was worried the hotel would block the sunset. “I think it will enhance the sunset,” Phillips said.

Phillips then took issue with a resident’s photo illustration of Springfield’s Hilton Garden Inn superimposed in the space where Steinert’s Hampton Inn would be erected. The hotel appeared to loom large over the neighborhood.

Rick Wilson of Wilson Surveying Co. Inc., who said he authored the zoning changes on behalf of Steinert and the seller of the 2.6-acre lot, presented pictures of Millwood Park taken from a boom five stories high that showed properties barely visible through the subdivision trees.

Millwood Golf & Racquet Club CEO Kristy Horton said the private golf community supports the hotel plans and the economic development they bring. She said the club has hosted roughly 1,000 events since it was developed 17 years ago, and a nearby hotel could enhance the venue.

“It could be beneficial in attracting other tournaments,” Horton said.

Council members could vote on Steinert’s planned development Aug. 13.

Steinert, who told council the current zoning would only allow for a 60-room hotel, has fought with neighbors before to forward a hotel project. Last fall, council rejected Steinert’s plan for a five-story Hampton Inn on East Republic Road, citing neighbor concerns about privacy.

The developer said the latest proposed hotel wouldn’t be financially feasible without the zoning change but would serve those visiting the $116 million Mercy Orthopedic Hospital currently under construction across the highway, as well as three golf courses in the area. On July 16, O’Reilly Hospitality Management LLC announced its plans to build a 103-room Fairfield Inn west of Highway 65, adjacent to the hospital. Those plans could go before council later this year.

Say cheese
By a 7-1 vote, council gave the green light for Kraft Foods to receive up to $26 million in industrial revenue bonds to upgrade its east Springfield manufacturing plant. Councilman Doug Burlison was the lone council member to vote against the incentives package that also provides 50 percent tax abatement for 10 years on improvements. Councilman Jerry Compton was absent.

Springfield Economic Development Director Mary Lilly Smith said the city estimates it would miss out on $813,000 in tax revenue during the 10-year abatement period. She said Kraft plans to spend the bond revenues on roughly $23.3 million in equipment and invest $49 million altogether.

Kraft Business Development Manager Bob Burgess said the funds would help bring a new shredded cheese line to Springfield and pasta equipment.

Burlison said there are no provisions in place to ensure Kraft wouldn’t cut jobs.

“I understand that’s our policy, but up to 250 people could lose their jobs … and I cannot vote to move that forward,” Burlison said, referring to a city policy that allows companies receiving tax incentives to cut up to 25 percent of their work forces.

Kraft employs 975 in Springfield, where it has operated since 1939. Earlier this month, a Kraft spokeswoman said the company had no plans to eliminate jobs with the upgrades.