Community Foundation gets new home

Great Southern Community Development Corp. announced its first project March 8, and the beneficiary is the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.
The CDC is building a 10,000-square-foot, $1.3 million office at 425 E. Trafficway to serve as CFO’s new headquarters. Construction is under way and completion is scheduled by the end of the year.
The site of the new CFO building, along with United Way’s headquarters, is on land that is currently owned by the city. The city purchased the land as part of its work to re-plot the square and create the tuning forks around downtown in the 1970s.
United Way leases the land from the city and, as part of the new agreement, will sublease it to Great Southern CDC so it can build the new CFO building.

Managing costs
The agreement allows CFO to lease the land and the building for about 20 percent less than it would have cost to hire a contractor and do a traditional construction project. That’s one of the reasons that Great Southern CDC Director Brian Fogle said the agreement is beneficial to both sides.
“We’re getting the use of that land basically for free – a dollar a year lease – so part of the savings is the fact that we’re accepting a lower return on investment than somebody else who would do it. And then there’s the fact that they’re not having to purchase ground and we’re not having to
purchase ground,” he said. “Certainly from the Community Foundation’s perspective, because banks have such a low cost of capital – we have ready access to capital because of the business that we’re in – we can pass along that low cost to the Community Foundation in the form of the lease. That allows them to get into a building with a more affordable lease than if they were going to go out and have the private sector do a build-to-suit.”
The lease agreement also includes an option for CFO to purchase the building at its depreciated value rather than its market value, further sweetening the deal.
Hood-Rich Architects and Engineers is the architect for the project, while Smith-Goth Engineers is doing the engineering work. Morelock-Ross Builders is the general contractor. Jack Hood of Hood-Rich Architects said his company is trying to keep the cost of the project down.
“We’re using some exposed structure in the building and not dropping ceilings and things of this nature, which basically is somewhat like the older buildings you see that are remodeled where they leave the exposed structure, the wood beams and things like that inside,” Hood said.
His company is also donating a portion of its project fees back to CFO, though Hood declined to provide the amount.
Community Foundation President Gary Funk said the new building will allow his organization to do several new things.
“It really helps us administratively,” he said. “We’ve had a great relationship with Hammons Tower but we’re a little cramped currently, and we don’t have meeting rooms. This will really provide some accessible space for that and allow us to operate in a manner that will be beneficial. The second thing that it does is it gives us some great visibility in the community; there’ll be a building and a place and people can associate you with that. Third thing is it will allow us to serve our nonprofits better.”

A boost for downtown
The new location puts CFO in close proximity with fellow nonprofits United Way of the Ozarks and Community Partnership of the Ozarks, creating a new nonprofit campus.
“I think our facility is something that will enhance their efforts as well; (it will) have some space that they currently might not have, particularly a large meeting room,” Funk said. “Also, we’re in a time where more and more human services are being transferred from government programs to nonprofit programs and we need to as a community work together to strengthen the entire collection of nonprofits for the challenges ahead. I think having an area of the community that signifies the importance of nonprofits is a symbolic gesture as well.”
The building also continues the revitalization efforts in downtown Springfield.
“We appreciate the commitment to our downtown that the Community Foundation board made when they selected this site,” Mayor Tom Carlson said in a news release. “It is important that it provides a further link between downtown and the Jordan Valley Park, and will bring more people to the downtown area to enjoy the heart of the community.”