Downtown developer buys former site of century-old buildings

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Tillman Redevelopment LLC purchased a downtown vacant lot that once had two nearly century-old vacant buildings.

Easterly Auction Co. owner Mike Easterly said the 511 St. Louis St. property, next to The Old Glass Place, sold at auction Sept. 1 to Scott Tillman, the owner of the development and property management company. The seller was Alice Spackman, Easterly said, noting the sale was the first and only auction held for it.

Paul Tillman, Scott’s son and property manager of Tillman Redevelopment, said the company has no immediate plans for the land. He declined to disclose the purchase price for the less than 1-acre lot with a 2017 taxable appraised value of $186,900, according to Greene County assessor records.

“We saw an investment opportunity, so we took it,” he said. “A vacant lot can be whatever a user needs it to be.”

At the site in early 2014, the city of Springfield issued a public nuisance notice and two buildings - originally constructed in 1920 - were demolished. The roofs of the structures had collapsed, creating a public safety hazard. The lot is adjacent to the former Arbor motel that was demolished in 2007 and early 2008 and across the street form the Discovery Center.