City Beat: MoDOT grant paves way for corporate hangars

In an economic development-charged move, Springfield City Council on March 10 approved a $5.6 million project to literally pave the way for new corporate hangars at the Springfield-Branson National Airport.

Council members unanimously accepted a $5.09 million Missouri Department of Transportation grant, with a 10 percent match, to cover Phase I work for access taxiways and an entrance road to the future home of some 14 new hangars. Based on demand, airport officials expect private airplane owners to build eight corporate hangars as a first step.

“We currently have no hangar development spots for corporate aircraft,” Springfield Aviation Director Brian Weiler told council. “The last thing I want is not having a spot ready for them.”

Airport officials have said 25 general aviation hangars are fully occupied at SGF, as it’s known in airport code, and about 50 private plane operators are on a waiting list for additional hangar space.

Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce officials and council members consider the west-side general aviation airport a front-door to large-scale economic development in the city. Current users of corporate hangars include Bass Pro Shops, BKD LLP, Great Southern Bank and Killian Construction Co.

Last April, during the 2013 State of the Airport address, Weiler laid out the needs for additional private hangars and general aviation renovations for traveling businesspeople. He told council members last week the project is two years in the making.

Weiler said the airport also aims to remove outdated or unused facilities and improve the entrance of the former terminal now home to some 850 Expedia employees and growing.

According to the bill, jet charter service Burgess Aircraft Management LLC in September signed a ground lease to privately construct the first hangar, and airport officials are negotiating with another entity on property for a second hangar. Through Burgess Aircraft Management, pilot Mark Burgess operates OzAir Charter Services and maintains about eight aircraft in a 15,000-square-foot fully occupied hangar at the general aviation airport adjacent to SGF.

Airport spokesman Kent Boyd said via email Burgess Aircraft’s lease covers 20 years for a 27,750-square-foot lot at $4,634 per year. The deal includes two renewal options of five years each, and upon conclusion of the lease, the hangar becomes the property of the airport, Boyd said.

The grant is written through the State Aviation Trust Fund, Weiler said. The trust fund, designed to aid infrastructure improvements at Missouri airports, is supported solely by a state sales tax on jet fuel. Weiler said SGF has done its part feeding the trust fund on its way to pumping 5.7 million gallons of fuel last year.

With airport board approval and council’s green light, Weiler said the project should start in May and wrap up by October.

MoDOT first awarded the airport a $310,000 grant in 2012 for design work, which Boyd said was handled by Denver-based aviation development firm Jviation Inc. According to the bill, Phase I development bids were taken Jan. 23, and airport staff is in the process of accepting a bid. Boyd said Hartman and Co. Inc. was the low bidder at $5.16 million, and the airport board is expected to vote on the contract March 20.

Timmons sale imminent
A late push to delay the sale of a Midtown Neighborhood church did not gain traction, and council members approved a rezoning for a student-housing development north of Ozarks Technical Community College.

The planned development for 1.61 acres owned by Timmons Temple Church of God in Christ at 934 E. Webster St. was nearly tabled for further review, but Councilman Jerry Compton’s motion didn’t carry. Compton sought more time for historic preservationists and Midtown neighbors to research the significance of the church buildings that face demolition in the hands of developers.

The property is under contract for purchase by area builder Larry Snyder and a group of investors, pending the requested zoning change. Currently in a single-family residential district with a dated planned development, council approved a zoning change by a 5-3 vote and opened the door for some 80 microefficiency apartments on site.

The multifamily proposal by Snyder and Greenway Studios LLC has divided Midtown residents, who voiced concerns about crowded parking and stormwater drainage during last month’s public hearing.

“We’re in the 11th hour getting in the middle of a private land sale,” Councilman Jeff Seifried said. “The question is: Does the proposed zoning work for this property? I believe it does.”

Timmons Temple Pastor T.J. Appleby told council the property has been listed for sale for about a year, and church leadership had received little concern until now.

“To get involved three days before a vote is too late,” Mayor Bob Stephens said.

Council’s approval supports Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission and city staff recommendations.

According to Missouri secretary of state records, Snyder of Ozark-based general contractor Larry Snyder & Co. organized the development company in May. The developers aim to target students of OTC.

VA clinic land identified
Council tabled a rezoning bill for one of two properties identified as potential sites for a long desired Veterans Affairs clinic in Springfield. The owners of 20 acres in southwest Springfield are positioning their properties for sale as three national developers pitch their clinic proposals to the VA.

Springfield architect Geoffrey Butler, representing the applicants, said VA officials are seeking groundwork completed before choosing a site and a developer. Landowners Judith M. Groover Trust and Warner Family Trust are packaging for sale their 10-acre parcels in the 1800-block of West Republic Road. “It will go in Springfield somewhere,” Butler said of the proposed 92,000-square-foot, single-story medical clinic at the intersection of Republic Road and Kansas Expressway. “We are preemptively putting this in place.

“This allows the south piece to be developed now with the VA clinic, or if the VA clinic doesn’t go, it can still be developed.”

Two nearby homeowners opposed the plans, citing sinkhole and water quality concerns for the area that serves as a drainage basin. The engineering issues prompted councilwoman Cindy Rushefsky’s motion for the two-week tabling, which passed 7-1. Councilman Craig Fishel was absent.

“With some creative minds and good engineering, the stormwater can be managed,” said Butler, a principal of Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Inc., noting the delay shouldn’t kill the deal.

According to VA.gov, the federal department operates outpatient clinics in Branson and Mount Vernon.