City signs term sheet for Heer’s sale

The term sheet also stipulates that McGowan|Walsh lease the former department store’s ground floor to Mike Shannon’s Steaks and Seafood Restaurant, a St. Louis-based upscale sports bar and fine-dining restaurant.

Mary Lilly Smith, the city’s economic development director, said firm principal Kevin McGowan, who did not immediately return calls, is still studying the feasibility of a boutique hotel on the eight-story building’s upper levels. McGowan previously told Springfield Business Journal his firm would prefer to renovate Heer’s as a hotel, rather than convert the building into condominiums.

The city’s commitment of at least $1 million to redesign Park Central Square is also spelled out in the term sheet, Smith said. Those funds – acquired through a Federal Highway Administration grant – include a $150,000 contract with Springfield architecture firm Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Inc. to facilitate public input on the square’s imminent facelift. The first public forum will likely be in August, said Assistant Public Works Director Phil Broyles.

“I think we all found some middle ground,” Smith said of the agreement.

If council approves the term sheet, the city will draw up a more detailed redevelopment agreement with specific timelines for design and construction on Heer’s and the square, Smith said. City staff hopes to have the final contract back to council in late July or early August, she added.

See SBJ’s July 2 issue for more on this story.