College Station to boost downtown retail

The College Station plan calls for two principal structures: a parking garage and an entertainment complex. Abutting McDaniel Street between Campbell and Market avenues would be a 153,600-square-foot, three-story parking deck providing 450 parking spaces and 43,000 square feet of first-floor commercial space for small retailers, Tillman said.

North of College Street, which bisects the development, would be a 160,000-square-foot urban entertainment complex housing restaurants, retail outlets and a first-run movie theater with up to 10 screens, Tillman said.

Financing for the city-owned garage includes applying the $450,000 that Tillman will pay for the land north of College to build the complex, said Tom Finnie, city manager.

Additional financing will be similar to the Heer’s Tower’s 550-space parking deck arrangement. Funds will come from a Chapter 353 Redevelopment Plan for property tax abatement and a dedication of the city’s general 1 percent sales tax generated by College Station, said Mary Lilly Smith, economic development director for the city.

Additionally, the city is proposing that College Station become a Community Improvement District and a Transporta-tion Development District – both to levy 1-cent sales taxes, Smith said. “All of those sources would go to retiring the debt on the parking deck,” as well as to do streetscaping and environmental remediation for the project, she added.

Creating spaces for smaller business outlets was fundamental to Tillman’s design. “What I wanted to do was give small-business owners the chance to come downtown and join in our great synergy we have going,” he said. This would be done through having lease space available, as well as locations where business owners could own their stores.

Between the parking garage and the retail complex in the courtyard would be a pedestrian bridge spanning College Street and connecting the two structures.

“The existing Calaboose would remain as a precinct station, which would provide additional security, and it would be seen as an historic amenity,” Rosenbury said.

College Station will feature restaurant and retail outlets on the first floor, with movie theaters on the second and third floors, said Tillman, who is seeking a theater company to anchor the development.

“In addition to the theater being a magnet, there would be two other destinations – retail and/or hospitality-type venues” – working as a drawing card to the location, Rosenbury said. Venues such as a Jillian’s, Dave & Buster’s or a Spaghetti Warehouse might be suitable candidates for the south end of the location, he added.

The prospect of retail outlets, restaurants and, especially, theater options was viewed as a viable addition to Springfield’s center city area, according to Mayor Tom Carlson. “The more screens the better” when it comes to working with studios and getting the films moviegoers want, he said.

It was the sales tax dollars Tillman’s proposal would produce that won over city officials. Previous residential-heavy proposals by Pellham Phillips Hagerman and Recess Properties, offered in response to the city’s 2002 Downtown Real Estate Study, were shelved in favor of retail use, Finnie said.

“The appraisal for the land using housing was lower than using the highest industrial use, which was identified as retail,” Finnie said, citing the lower receipts produced from property taxes when compared to potential sales tax revenues.

“The revenue we needed for the parking deck would fall short if it was primarily housing,” Finnie said. Tillman was selected based on his retail development scheme and because he was prepared to pay “the appraised value for the highest and best use” of the property as a retail concern, Finnie said.

Also, tipping the scales in Tillman’s favor was the fact that new housing has been recently added to the downtown area.“This year alone, we’re talking about 200 loft apartments coming on line,” Finnie said. “Housing is moving forth like a tidal wave, and the retail is starting to catch up,” he added.

“It just really comes down to highest and best use,” said Matt Miller, co-owner of Recess Properties LLC. “That property’s a little too expensive to work for residential, and retail really pushes the numbers as far tax dollars that you can generate to support that parking garage.”

“While we feel there’s a continued need for a new housing development downtown, we certainly understand why the city went in the direction they did. It makes sense,” Miller added.

In the event the development does not proceed sufficiently in the next 18 months, the city has the right to repurchase the property from Tillman, less a 5 percent fee, Smith said.

Adding a residential capacity to the project is still part of the possible design to College Station, however. Future plans allow for a “high-rise development” of up to 10 floors to be built atop the northern structure, which could provide another 180,000 square feet of living space, Rosenbury said.

City council will consider several actions regarding the College Station development in its Oct. 4 meeting, Finnie said.