Corporate Village: New office, retail complex planned for Republic Road

A new village is coming to south Springfield.

Site work is beginning for Corporate Village, an 11-building complex designed for office and retail tenants. Corporate Village LLC, made up of a group of local investors, is owner and developer of the approximately $10 million project on about 10 acres in the 600 block of West Republic Road. Names of the investors were not disclosed.

The entire development will be more than 80,000 square feet.

Phase I comprises more than 25,000 square feet among three buildings. The largest is an approximately 12,000-square-foot retail building at the entrance of the complex, said Tom Rankin, whose firm Rankin Company is leasing agent for the project.

Rankin said a unique element to the development is the opportunity for retailers to purchase their space.

Thats really unique. Weve never been involved in a retail condominium sale before, Rankin said. Most people cant own retail spaces; (theyre) real hard to come by.

A second retail building is planned in a later phase of the three- to five-year project. Each retail building can accommodate eight businesses. The retail spaces will sell for $120 per square foot and lease for $12 per square foot, Rankin said.

Office condominium rates are $15 per square foot for lease and $125 per square foot to buy.

Though the first phase comprises two office buildings, there will be nine office condos totaling approximately 54,000 square feet when complete. Available office spaces vary from 1,000 square feet to 7,000 square feet.

Rankin said the owner is offering 100 percent financing. Thats a big plus, he said. A lot of small businesses have a hard time coming up with 10 (percent) or 20 percent down.

Small businesses are the target tenants, Rankin said, naming financial, law and medical services as well as retailers such as dry cleaners, tanning salons and sandwich shops.

Rankin has an offer on the table for an office condo purchase.

It shows that there is already interest generated, and we dont even have a building to show yet, he said.

Rankin said the site was chosen because of its visibility from James River Freeway and access to Republic Road, just west of Campbell Avenue. The property abuts James River Freeway.

He also said its size made it suitable for a condominium village, as opposed to one- or two-building sites that were considered.

Morelock-Ross Builders is general contractor and Marshall-Waters-Woody Associates is architect. Peoples Bank is financing the project.