City changes, expands during 20-year span

The construction of the James River Freeway, the growth spurt in Branson and Springfield's overall beautification are just a few of the things city planners attribute to its constant growth and improvement over the last 20 years.

Robert Reed, an associate planner for the city's Department of Planning and Development, keeps track of the population by various means, including Census Bureau data.

"In April of 1980, there were 133,116 people living in Springfield," Reed said. "That same year, there were 185,302 people living in Greene County. Ten years later, there were 140,494 people in Springfield and 207,949 in Greene County."

While the population numbers aren't yet available for the year 2000, Reed's department does its own yearly population estimates for Springfield and Greene County. "As of December 1999, we estimate that 156,192 people are living in Springfield and 250,250 are living in Greene County," Reed said.

According to a February quarterly report from the city, 20.4 percent of that estimated number are 18 years old or younger; 17.9 percent are ages 18-24; 29.4 percent are ages 25-44; 17 percent are ages 45-64 and 15.3 percent are 65 and over.

The report also states that Springfield comprises 72 square miles while Greene County encompasses 1,831 square miles.

John Hardin, a cartographer for the city, said the city's growth over the last 20 years has continued to be due south, toward Ozark and Nixa.

"But we're also seeing some infilling during the last five years," Hardin said. "People are moving in all over town. Lots that hadn't been used for 40 years now have homes on them."

Fred May, the director of Planning and Development, said Springfield has changed from a big town to more of a city during the last 20 years.

"There's more of a cosmopolitan flavor to the area," he said. "We have people moving in who have had experiences in other places; this changes the Springfield scene."

City Manager Tom Finnie said the James River Freeway has had a major impact on the growth of businesses in Springfield.

"It's had a huge economic impact on the areas where there's access to the freeway, like Glenstone, National and Campbell," he said. "We're seeing intense developments in those areas."

May stated that the James River Freeway also brings people to the city instead of around it.

"It makes it easier for everyone to get around," he said.

The first phase of the freeway opened in the early 1990s and it will be finished sometime in early 2002 when it will connect to Interstate 44.

May said the population and economic boom in Branson during the late 1980s and early 1990s has been a contributing factor in Springfield's growth.

"There wasn't a lot of housing in Branson at that time," he said. "People who wanted to work in Branson were having to live in Springfield. They were also having to shop in Springfield because, at that time, there were no outlet malls in Branson."

Dr. Reed Olsen, a professor of economics at SMS, was asked by Springfield's city leaders to complete a correlation study on Branson and Springfield. He collected the information last summer and wrote the report in August.

"I learned that for every dollar spent in Branson, it generates between $1.20 and $1.50 in Springfield," he said. "I believe there are two reasons this happens. For one, the tourists who go to Branson also come to Springfield and spend money. The other reason is that there are people who work in Branson but may live and spend their money in Springfield."

May said the health care boom that began in the early 1980s in Springfield brought a lot of people to the area.

"The existing hospitals, like Cox Health Systems and St. John's, began adding on to their facilities and a new hospital, (Springfield Community) on Walnut Lawn came to the area," he said. That facility is now a part of the Cox system.

The expansion of Bass Pro Shops has also brought people to the area who would not have come to Springfield otherwise, according to May.

John L. Morris opened the first Bass Pro Shop in his father's Brown Derby liquor store in 1971. Ten years later, he opened the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World showroom and, in 1993, a 17,000-square-foot wildlife museum was added.

"Bass Pro Shops has made more people aware of Springfield," May said.

Both May and Finnie said that in addition to tremendous growth in the area, there's been a real change in the types of buildings being constructed in Springfield over the last 20 years.

"The quality of the buildings is increasing," May said. "When you look at places like Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) and the Library Center, you realize that people aren't just making a shell of a building; they're making that site a part of the community. The builders are more sensitive than ever to the fact that people want the buildings to be aesthetically pleasing. There's been a significant difference, across the board, in the kinds of buildings that are going up today compared to what was being built 20 years ago."

May said this extends to the private sector as well.

"The shopping areas that are going up now are more appealing to the eye than they used to be," he said. "In surveys we've done, we learned it's important to the citizens of Springfield that new buildings be aesthetically pleasing and include landscaping in the overall design. We've seen more development that focuses on those concerns."

Finnie said the community's expectations of new construction are higher than 10 or 20 years ago.

"When you look at places like the Library Center, the new library at Drury, or Prime Inc.'s building, you realize that the architecture in Springfield is improving all the time," he said.

Also, "Drury, Evangel and SMS have all created a very positive impact on the quality of life here.

"For example, the Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts is a place where Broadway plays and symphonies, things of national quality, are performed. Drury and Evangel have gone from being colleges to universities, have qualified, instead of open, admission programs and have constant growth patterns."

As the city has grown, so has its needs.

The capital improvements program, which pays for things like walking trails, is funded by a quarter-cent sales tax. The city started collecting on the tax in December of 1989.

The program is an annual one in which the city planners look ahead to the next six years to see what improvements they want to make.

"The community is holding the public and private sector accountable to meet their expectations and has really been behind this program," May said. "Ten years before we started this program, there weren't a lot of capital improvements."

Finnie said he believes OTC has had a major impact on bringing new businesses into Springfield and encouraging existing ones to expand.

"Companies decide to expand or move here when they learn their employees can get the training they'll need at OTC," he said.

The school opened its doors in the fall of 1991, with 1,196 credit seeking students and 1,500 non-credit students. In the fall of 1999, there were 5,922 credit seeking students and 6,000 noncredit students, according to school president Norman Myers.

OTC began in the Graff Vo-Tech building and leased space at Cox Medical Center North and the North Town Mall.

While OTC still uses those locations, the school has expanded to include the Technical Education Center and the Information Commons building on its campus.

Next summer, the Industry and Transportation Technology Center should be complete.