Council votes to seize Hotel of Terror property

Sterling Mathis: The price to move Hotel of Terror contents is based on the city changing its building code requirements.

Springfield City Council unanimously voted to move ahead with its plans to seize the property that is the site of the haunted attraction known as the Hotel of Terror at its meeting Dec. 15.

The council measure did not name the 47-year-old business, instead referring to it as “the structure at 334 N. Main Ave.”

The legislation maintains that the city cannot repair the Main Avenue bridge – rated “poor” by the Missouri Department of Transportation and closed to heavy buses and emergency vehicles – without damaging the building. MoDOT recommends replacement of the bridge, the measure states.

“The structure at 334 N. Main Ave. was constructed immediately adjacent to the Main Avenue bridge, rendering any attempt to replace the Main Avenue bridge without significantly and materially damaging the adjacent structure infeasible,” the council bill states.

The bill states the city and the property owners – Sterling and Melissa Mathis – are at an impasse.

“Despite engaging in good faith negotiations, the city and owner have been unable to agree on the fair market value for the property,” it states.

Sterling Mathis told Springfield Business Journal by phone the day after the meeting that he intends to collect signatures for a referendum to overturn council’s action, as he did once before in 2023, when council responded by repealing its legislation. Mathis has 30 days to acquire 1,499 signatures to get the item on an upcoming ballot under city charter.

Mathis said he does not anticipate any problem getting onto the ballot or with the measure passing by a majority of voters – and he is eager to express his side of the issue.

“When they started this up again, the city gave a 20-minute PowerPoint presentation on why they’ve got to take it,” he said, referring to the first reading and public hearing on Nov. 17. “They let me talk for three minutes and essentially told me to sit down and shut up. A 47-year business, and I couldn’t even respond to what they were saying.”

The eminent domain proceedings would lead to a three-member commission, appointed by a judge, to determine a fair price. A jury could then be asked to determine the price if either party objects to the commission’s determination, according to past SBJ reporting.

The owners’ most recent asking price, in November, was $3.5 million, which Mathis says is the cost of moving the contents of the attraction and renovating a secondary site to meet city code requirements, according to past SBJ reporting. That site, 701 W. Wall St., is where the owners operate another seasonal attraction called Dungeons of Doom.

The Hotel of Terror, in place since 1978, brought in $250,000 this year in its seasonal operation, which amounts to approximately one month leading up to Halloween.

The city offered a contract to purchase the 1904-built property for $2 million in May 2024, according to past SBJ reporting.

Mathis said the $2 million offer was sufficient at the time, but when he tried to pull permits, the goal post had been moved: the Dungeons of Doom building, which the city formerly classified as Type III-B construction, was now considered Type I-B under the International Building Code.

“I-B is a whole different set of rules,” he said, noting it would require the addition of an elevator and the elimination of any wood in the construction – meaning the building would require a whole new roof and would have to be stripped of wood throughout.

“I have to start from scratch, and it costs money to do that,” he said. “I’ve been trying to get that out, but nobody in the media seems to care.”

Under the newly passed council measure, the seizure would happen through the city’s assertion of the power of eminent domain as it works on a project to bring the buried Jordan Creek back to the surface downtown. Named Renew Jordan Creek, the project is creating a public amenity, including parks and walkways, along the restored stream. The first phase of the project, which began in late 2024, is approximately at its halfway point, according to the Renew Jordan Creek website, which projects a completion date in late 2026.

The bill states that MoDOT’s 2024 inspection of the bridge identified “severe section loss in bottom flanges of steel channel beams with areas of 100% section loss.” This has resulted in the reduction of its load posting to 10 tons.

The bill also states replacement of the bridge would increase stormwater conveyance capacity to reduce flooding between Main and Washington avenues and remove some 50 properties from the floodplain.

The bridge replacement would be paid for in part with federal funds, the measure states.

The bill authorizes the city attorney or a designee to initiate legal proceedings to determine just compensation to acquire the property. It adds, “The officers of the city are further authorized to exercise any and all powers necessary to carry out the terms of this ordinance.”

There was no discussion prior to the unanimous vote, for which a public hearing was held Nov. 17.

In an informal poll of SBJ readers, posted Nov. 19, 59% of 688 respondents supported the use of eminent domain to seize the property, as of Dec. 18.

60/65 study
A study is proposed to look at ways to improve safety, traffic operations, travel time, reliability and economic development for the junction of U.S. Routes 60 and 65.

If approved Jan. 12, the measure would dedicate $300,000 of city funds toward the access and operational study to be conducted through an intergovernmental agreement with Greene County, City Utilities of Springfield and the Ozarks Transportation Organization. The total study cost is $1 million.

Public Works Director Dan Smith said there is tremendous growth in the area, much of which is undeveloped.

“Collaboratively studying with the various groups involved, we will be able to bring forward recommendations that get ahead of development,” he said.

By doing so, he said, the city could get ahead of potential disagreements about development in the area.

Councilmember Craig Hosmer called the move a smart one.

“This is what we should be doing – planning before development hits so we know where roads are going to go; we know where interchanges are going to be,” he said.

He added the move would open up development on both sides of U.S. Route 65.

“I think it is smart planning,” he said. “I think it looks at where we should be as a city and lets us plan rather than react to things.”

Zoning measures
Council heard a series of first readings of bills related to zoning, among them five rezoning requests and a general cleanup of the city’s land development code, all slated for a vote at council’s next scheduled meeting on Jan. 12.

The code revisions were mainly corrections and clarifications, said Justin Crighton, assistant director of Planning & Development for the city. The new text is more understandable and articulates some city procedures, he said.

The changes would take effect when the city’s new zoning map is adopted, a move that is anticipated in April, Crighton said.

The rezoning measures included the following:
• 1.8 acres in the area of the 1300 block of North Lyon Avenue, single-family residential and planned development to center city district with conditional overlay for Central Assembly of God Church, which intends to expand its parking
• Three-quarters of an acre in the area of 517 E. Calhoun St. from single-family residential to Office 1 with conditional overlay for Drury University to repurpose a former church building for office uses
• 14.5 acres in the area of 3907 S. York Ave. from a Greene County plot assignment district to residential townhouse for Wire Rd Development LLC and Boehm Family Trust to build duplexes
• 5.4 acres at 4001 W. Chestnut Expressway to low-density multifamily residential from general manufacturing and highway commercial for Chestnut Self Storage LLC to build multifamily apartments
• A conditional use permit allowing an automobile service garage within a general retail district at 4545 S. Lyon Ave. for TKG-RKS Joint Venture LLC

Other action items
• At the request of the Commercial Club of Springfield, council unanimously voted to change the name of Blaine Street to Blaine Lane in the stretch extending from Lyon to Washington avenues. Commercial Club President Mary Collette said the name change is part of a long-term strategy for the district. The plan is to encourage business owners to beautify the backs of buildings and establish new rear entrances, possibly increasing the potential for two businesses to share a ground floor, she said.
• Council considered the adoption of the 2024 edition of the International Fire Code from the 2018 version. Fire Chief David Pennington said it is the city’s practice to adopt the international code at its every other update to provide predictability and consistency for the business and development community. A vote is set for Jan. 12.
• A code revision set to be voted on Jan. 12 would establish a new framework for managing driveways, access points and intersections. The desired result of the proposed performance-based framework is to provide predictability for developers, leading to faster approvals and better alignment, said Public Works Assistant Director Brett Foster.
• An additional $3.1 million from level property tax reserves was proposed to fund remaining costs for the Historic City Hall rehabilitation project, with a vote set for Jan. 12. David Atkisson, leader of the Springfield office of J.E. Dunn Construction Co., characterized the ongoing renovation as challenging, with areas of demolition exposing new issues to be addressed. “With each turn you take, there’s some new discovery to be made,” he said. In June, the project cost was estimated at $23.2 million, according to past SBJ reporting.
• Council considered the appropriation of $1 million of Spring Forward SGF half-cent sales tax revenue to be split between the Planning Department and the Parks Department to support the development of neighborhood plans and individual park master plans. The allocation was recommended by the Citizens’ Advisory Board, which advises the city on the use of funds from that tax. A vote is set for Jan. 12.
• Council authorized the issuance of just over $24 million in special obligation refunding bonds for sewer system improvements.
• A $306,000 State Homeland Security Grant was accepted toward the operation of the Springfield Fire Department’s hazardous materials team, technical rescue team and bomb squad.
• Wendy Garrison was reappointed to a third four-year term as judge of the Springfield Municipal Court.