City Council OKs plans for south-side high-rise

Developer David Termohlen's vision for a high-rise condominium building in south Springfield near the James River Freeway is now closer to reality after City Council approved plans for the project in its first meeting of 2000 8-1.

Councilwoman Shelia Wright was the only council member to vote against the project.

The building, as proposed, will consist of 126 units and will be Springfield's tallest at 336 feet. Comparable to One Parkway Place on John Q. Hammons Parkway across from University Plaza, the building will be named Park Lane Tower and will offer condo units in the six- and seven-figure price range. Termohlen said there is a demand in the area for another such complex, and he is confident residents will fill the building, which will sit on five acres on the west side of Fremont Avenue between Bradford Parkway and Independence Street.

Council heard a first reading on a bill to approve the preliminary plat of Oak Terrace, to be located on the east side of Lone Pine Avenue south of Sunshine.

Approving the plat would involve making improvements to the area, including extending the 1900 block of South Oak Grove Avenue north to Ottawa Street, which would address complaints of discontinuous city streets, according to City Manager Tom Finnie. Neighbors from the area turned out at the meeting to protest extending the street, citing traffic concerns and safety involving pedestrian traffic along Oak Grove, which has no sidewalks.

A spokesman for the Southeast Springfield Neighborhood Association said the neighbors would maintain or collect the money to maintain the greenspace where Oak Grove now ends, after Councilman Tom Carlson expressed concern about such maintenance.

First reading bills on the consent agenda included bills approving the preliminary plats of the third addition of the Airport Commerce Center at the intersection of North Airport Commerce Avenue and Kearney; Ridgeview Heights, located at the northwest corner of East Battlefield Road and South Claremont; Battlefield Business Center No. 4, located northwest of the intersection of West Battlefield and South Kansas Expressway on West Sunset Street; a replat of lots five and six of Bullinger Addition, located on the east side of North National and south of East Bonaire Drive; and the sixth addition of Fox Grape, located south of East Battlefield and east of Ingram Mill on Manitoo Street.

In other business, council voted unanimously to rezone nearly eight acres on the north side of West Kingsley Street west of Kansas Expressway from a single-family residential district to a planned development district.

Council also voted 6-2 to annex the Timberbrook subdivision. Wright and Councilman Ralph Manley voted against the annexation.

Council bills for public hearing involved rezoning. The first was to rezone about 29 acres at the area northeast of Interstate 44 and Mulroy Road, interchange from a Greene County Plot Assignment District to a low-density, multifamily residential district and a highway commercial district, subject to conditions.

The second bill involved rezoning 7 1/3 acres at the northeast corner of Republic and Cox Roads from a single family residential to a general retail district. The third bill was to rezone more than 1 1/2 acres at the northeast corner of Republic Road and Fairview Avenue from a medium density, multifamily residential to a planned development district.

Council meetings can be viewed in their entirety the Friday and Sunday following the meetings at 7 p.m. on Cable Channel 23.