A downtown Springfield redevelopment project more than a year in the making received a shot in the arm last week as the Missouri Department of Economic Development awarded $127,836 in remediation tax credits to Water Street Development LLC.
Developer Craig Wagoner applied for the credits through the state's Brownfield Redevelopment Program months after buying the 213 W. Olive St. property in January 2008.
"It finally came through," Wagoner said this morning, adding that asbestos and lead paint removal should start next week.
The structure was built in 1899 as a parking garage and has an appraised value of $316,400, according to the Greene County Assessor's Office.
Wagoner, a downtown redeveloper known for the Seville Lofts and the Lofts at Jordan Creek, plans to develop commercial and residential components by spring 2011. He's still working out the specifics for the 43,000-square-foot, three-story building.
"I'm just talking with people right now ... shooting ideas around," Wagoner said. "I'm talking to a retail user tomorrow, and I know there will be a couple lofts on the back part of the building."
A DED news release said the building has been vacant since 2005 and underutilized for a decade - two keys to approval in the state brownfields program, in addition to being contaminated by a hazardous substance. Tax credits are issued for eligible remediation costs, jobs and investment, and demolition costs, the release said.
According to his tax credit application, Wagoner projects the $2 million to $3 million project will create 20 jobs.
Wagoner is using a $150,000 city loan to fund the cleanup work.
"It's allowing him to go ahead and complete his cleanup up front and then whenever his tax credits come in, he'll use that to repay the loan," said Springfield Brownfields Coordinator Olivia Hough. "He'll get those tax credits at the end of the project."
The city's brownfields revolving loan fund through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides private parties funding for environmental cleanup such as soil, groundwater, petroleum or demolition hazards. Hough said the EPA initially granted the city $1 million for the fund but recently supplemented it with $510,000 in federal stimulus money.
"Craig is the very first one to have a loan closed," Hough said, adding that pending applications include Joe Costello's 501 N. Main Ave. project and Missouri State University's IDEA Commons for the former Willow Brook plant.
The loans - for which applications can be accessed at www.springfieldmo.gov/brownfields - typically carry zero percent interest for the first two years, 3 percent interest in years two through five and 6 percent beyond five years, Hough said.
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
