Design work begins on east-side industrial park

Springfield entrepreneurs who purchased 105 acres on East Kearney several years ago are now turning it into an industrial park targeted to distribution businesses.

Tom Rankin and the Charlie O'Reilly family own the property as East Kearney Industrial LLC.

The property is being developed by North Creek Developments. Rankin, owner of Rankin & Co., a commercial real estate brokerage firm, and the O'Reillys, shareholders in O'Reilly Auto Parts, are also members of the development company.

The property that will become North Creek Industrial Park is northeast of the intersection of Kearney and Neergard. It is just north of the former location of the Holiday Drive-In.

Rankin said the site is well located for an industrial park. And one of the things that makes this new development possible at this time is the availability of city sewer service.

"The sewer hadn't been available in the past," he said. "But now that it is, we feel North Creek is the right project in the right location at the right time."

Councilwoman Shelia Wright said a sewer line will be run along Kearney Street during the next several years. "There's a sewer line there," she said, "It just needs to be extended."

Rankin said East Kearney Industrial will be selling 12 lots of two to five acres each during the first phase of the park and 11 lots of approximately the same size in phase II.

"We hope to start the construction about six to eight weeks from now," he said. "We're targeting the office warehouse and distribution users." He added that build-to-suit projects will be considered, as well.

Mathews and Associates Inc. is the engineering firm on the project. Freeman McCullah, a senior designer for Mathews, said the engineers have been involved since the project first began last August.

"We are currently working on infrastructure design," McCullah said. "This involves the development of construction documents for sanitary and storm sewer drainage systems, as well as street design."

He said he anticipates the construction documents will be ready for review by the Public Works Department within four to six weeks. The preliminary plat for the parcel was approved by City Council March 6.

"I think this type of industrial park is needed," McCullah said. "It will serve a different type of client than a lot of other locations in this area."

Rankin said he hopes to develop the west half of the subdivision first. Since Packer Road does not yet exist north of Kearney, the subdivision must rely on Neergard for its sole access for the time being.

He said the city will be recommending a quarter-cent capital improvement project to construct Packer Road north of Kearney on the east side of the subdivision and to make improvements to the intersection of Neergard and Kearney.