Commercial growth crops up on East Battlefield

Commercial developers have taken an interest in the East Battlefield Road area, near Lone Pine and Highway 65. There are several projects in the works for that part of the city.

One of those is Battlefield Ridge, a retail development approximately 320,000 square feet that sits on a tract of 37 acres. Battlefield Ridge will be constructed on the northeast corner of Battlefield Road and 65. The project is being developed by the St. Louis-based Sansone Group.

Jim Sansone, a principal of the Sansone Group, said the company hopes to break ground on Battlefield Ridge within the next 12 months, following the necessary approval from the city and other entities.

Sansone said although he can't discuss specific companies, there has been strong tenant interest in the Battlefield Ridge property. He expects Battlefield Ridge will offer various types of retail, such as apparel and electronics shops.

He said Sansone Group has been involved in retail developments in Springfield before such as Morris Corners, where Toys R' Us is located.

"We've always thought that Springfield is a strong market. It's a growing market, and one that we feel as though there are opportunities from a retail perspective," Sansone said.

He added that the Battlefield and 65 area has a lot of potential in terms of retail development.

"It's a strong demographic population, it's at a good intersection, and we think that it warrants a significant retail development, and that's what we're working toward achieving," Sansone said.

Bill Jester, president of Resource Development Inc. and Great Wall Construction Inc., is planning a retail and office development in the same area. His property, Battlefield Towers, will be located on the corner of Battlefield Road and Lone Pine. He said originally, the project plans included a convenience store along with the office and retail space, but he said plans for the site that is zoned general retail under a planned development, may change.

"We are currently evaluating whether to shift our focus on the convenience store to a free-standing, user friendly, neighborhood-friendly, restaurant location, which would be, I think, a popular thing," Jester said.

He said although Lone Pine is a primary corridor for Springfield, he thinks residents in the Southern Hills area are among the city's most under-served in terms of modern conveniences. But he said Battlefield Towers can change that.

"We already have inquiries from dry cleaners, from people who basically serve neighborhoods. We've got somebody talking to us from the small service business, like Blimpie's, things like that, and pizza. And then, again, our consideration now is to move from the convenience store to a moderate to upscale free-standing restaurant location," Jester said.

Jester said in terms of tenants for the office space included in the project, there haven't yet been any specific inquiries, but he said there are many types of businesses that would fit well in the development.

"Our other properties in Springfield show that investment houses, insurance places, land title closing operations, all those types of places are good candidates for us," he said.

Jester said it's his intent to begin construction of Battlefield Towers, which will include 23,000 square feet, by July 1.

Other projects in the East Battlefield and Lone Pine area include an office development that's now under construction on East Battlefield between Lone Pine and Ingram Mill Road.

Directly across from that development is a sign advertising space for lease in a shopping center planned for that location. Randy Magers, leasing agent for those properties, could not be reached for comment.