City Beat: Quail Creek center plans $3M expansion

A south Springfield senior living center can move forward with plans for a $3 million expansion after Springfield City Council on Feb. 8 unanimously rezoned nearly 7 acres southeast of West Lark Street and South Kansas Avenue.

Council approved a change for The Neighborhoods at Quail Creek, 1514 W. Lark St., to an office district with a conditional overlay – which limits the permitted uses on the property to nursing and retirement homes – from a planned development and single-family residential district.

Sikeston-based Americare Senior Living owns and operates the Quail Creek assisted-living and rehabilitation center. Spokeswoman Pat Cokingtin said the zoning change is necessary to expand the building south along Kansas Avenue.

The addition would add 18 rooms to the 72-room center and 3,850 square feet of therapy space from only 760 square feet now.

“That’s a big reason why we’re doing this,” she said of the new therapy space. “We are generally full at Quail Creek. We know there is demand and are adding so we can accommodate more short-term, rehab-to-home clients.”

Cokingtin said construction is expected to begin this summer on the 3.6-acre property and take about a year to complete.

According to the city staff recommendation in the bill, further development of the property would promote infill and increased density where investments already have been made. The Neighborhoods at Quail Creek, which Americare spent $9.1 million to build in 2006, had a 2015 taxable appraised value of $5.14 million, according to Greene County assessor records. The 18 acres of commercial property surrounding the entrance to the nearby Quail Creek single-family neighborhood have a combined valued of over $23 million.

The city Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing Jan. 7 and recommended the rezoning with a 5-0 vote.

According to AmericareUSA.net, The Neighborhoods at Quail Creek offers skilled long-term nursing and short-term rehabilitation services. Americare operates six senior-living centers in Springfield, including Lakewood, Ravenwood and Spring Ridge, as well as NorthPark Village in Ozark and Bradford Court in Nixa, according to AmericareUSA.net.

Americare Senior Living lists 143 locations across Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi and Tennessee, with 89 of those in the Show-Me State.

Vanzandt’s addition
Vanzandt’s Affordable Auto Repair LLC received council’s go-ahead to expand operations onto an adjacent former laundromat property with a 9-0 vote on a conditional-use permit.

At a Jan. 25 public hearing, architect Stephanie Ireland of Ireland Architects Inc. said repair shop owner Jim Vanzandt seeks to buy the former laundromat at 1110 N. Grant Ave. – currently used for storage – to expand his business, but a conditional-use permit was required. Ireland represented both property owners at the meeting.

According to Greene County assessor records, the property is owned by Walter Rosseau, of Nixa.

Councilwoman Phyllis Ferguson said at the public hearing Vanzandt’s business is ready to expand.

“I drive by there twice a day, and they definitely need that,” Ferguson said.  

After approval of the conditional-use permit on Feb. 8, Vanzandt said he planned to renovate the long-vacant building and add four service bays, as well as a drive-thru inspection station. He said the repair shop currently performs about 30 state vehicle inspections a day, and he expects the new configuration to allow up to 45 a day.

A full cost estimate was not yet known, he said.

“I can tell you it cost me $6,000 to get the city to approve it in between my surveyors, my architect and $1,875 to Planning and Zoning,” Vanzandt said. “But it’s a lot better than buying the property and not being able to use it at all.”

Vanzandt is spending $60,000 to buy the Grant Avenue building and quarter-acre parcel, which doglegs around his 1100 N. Grant Ave. service center. He also plans to erect fencing as a buffer to adjacent single-family homes in north-central neighborhood.

Zoning inspector
Council also considered a bill to add a full-time residential construction and zoning inspector to the city’s Building Development Services staff.

The move, funded by the general revenue budget’s contingency fund, would bring the number of inspectors up to nine, said Building Development Services Director Chris Straw.

“The intent of this position is to assist our land-use inspectors dealing with the increased number of housing issues we are encountering,” Straw said, noting the city had 13 inspectors in 2005.

He said 10 years ago the department fielded about 8,000 calls for inspectors and roughly 9,000 calls in 2015.

A second reading and vote is scheduled Feb. 22.