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REDESIGNED: The project at 3535 S. Lone Pine Ave. will amass 4 acres, comprising retail, office and restaurant space, plus two residential buildings.
Rendering provided by H Design Group LLC
REDESIGNED: The project at 3535 S. Lone Pine Ave. will amass 4 acres, comprising retail, office and restaurant space, plus two residential buildings.

Developer revives Galloway project

After Springfield City Council debate last year, plans for a mixed-use development have been redesigned

Posted online

Budding developer Mitch Jenkins is reviving plans for a mixed-use development in the Galloway Village area after the project came to a halt in 2018.

The redesigned project at 3535 S. Lone Pine Ave. will comprise 8,000 square feet of retail, office and restaurant space, plus two multifamily buildings, said Jenkins, owner of Elevation Development Co. The new plans, which span 4 acres, also call for increased greenspace and a stream buffer, he said.

But the project has been met with resistance from the neighborhood over the last few years. In June 2019, Jenkins’ project was the center of a Springfield City Council debate after the Galloway Village Neighborhood Association applied for a historic designation at the site without Jenkins’ consent. Council ruled in favor of Jenkins, the property owner, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

The site where Jenkins plans to build includes a parcel that was once the Sequiota Store/Treadway’s General Store & Gas Station, built in 1929. Galloway residents were concerned about losing the historical building, which sits across from Sequiota Park, according to past SBJ reporting.

Jenkins said his new development plans were inspired after meeting with the Galloway Village Neighborhood Association board in October 2019, and he said they adhere to a new policy document on developing in the Galloway area, which the city passed last year after putting an administrative delay on the project in 2018. Jenkins unveiled the plans, which include rezoning the land to a planned development, in a May 13 neighborhood meeting webinar.

The Galloway Redevelopment Plan includes parameters for preservation of significant structures, height and buffer requirements, and increased space for pedestrians and cyclists.

“The project has been designed really after multiple conversations and meetings with the neighborhood association,” said Jenkins. “This is a testament to how business owners and developers can work together.”

Jenkins’ plans include keeping the four existing, vacant structures on the site – including the former Sequiota Bike Shop, which closed in 2018 after a dispute between the owners and landlord, according to past SBJ reporting.

Historical photos of the Galloway area also are being used to inspire designs. H Design Group LLC has been hired on as architect for the project, along with civil engineering firm Olsson Inc.

“We want to take design elements from the photos and incorporate it into the new buildings,” Jenkins said, adding he also plans to revitalize the existing buildings without making too many structural changes.

He said project costs and a timeline have not been determined, though he’s anticipating council will take action on the rezoning request in July.

The residential buildings would offer rooftop patios, and layouts would include studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom designs, as well as two-story penthouse units. Other planned amenities are a pool, business center, gym and greenspace.

Brandon Biskup, a designer at H Design Group, said during the webinar that the multifamily component is designed with 116 residential units and outdoor parking. The south building also would include a parking garage underneath the complex, he said.

During the webinar, neighborhood members expressed concern for additional flooding along Lone Pine Avenue and in Sequiota Park. Others suggested adding a warning light to a planned crosswalk that connects the development to Sequiota Park across Lone Pine.

After the meeting, members of the Galloway Village Neighborhood Association said in an interview with SBJ that additional flooding and traffic, as well as project aesthetics, are concerns that remain.

Marcie Kirkup, president of the neighborhood association, said many neighborhood members would not support the scale of the development compared with the single-family residential zoning in the majority of the area. The rezoning request would allow Jenkins to construct 28 units per acre.

Down the road on Lone Pine, recent developments Quarry Town and Township 28 are zoned to allow 12-20 units per acre, the association members pointed out.

“It feels like everybody is building for profit, and how much can we cram onto one acre?” said association Treasurer Wendy Huscher. “This project doesn’t have any kind of village feel to it. … The feel of neighbors is that it’s too tall, too congested; they’re going to overuse our internet, water and sewer.”

So far, Kirkup said, the only aspect of the project the group has agreed with is the preservation of the historical buildings.

“What we’re seeing here, over the last three years, is an incredible takeover by development corporations in the heart of our neighborhood,” said Kirkup. “It’s not just this development, it’s this one plus the next one, plus the next one.”

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