Downtown Springfield loses two tenants

The South Peer Antique Mall & Flea Market at 317 South Ave. – a mainstay for vendors of all things vintage – will close its doors Aug. 10, according to signs posted in the store’s windows.

Owner E.J. Luarca, who also owns and operates Tradewinds Furniture Co. at 315 South Ave., sold the former hardware store to a group of investors doing business as South Pier LLC. The investors are Jerry and Bo Hagerman, a father-son architect team who own Hagerman New Urbanism, Jason Harris and Keith Acuff. The sale closed July 13.

Bo Hagerman said the 25,000-square-foot, three-story building would be converted into a mixed-use development with nine luxury condominiums on the second and third floors and restaurant or office space on the ground level. Hagerman New Urbanism has already started engineering and design for the $3 million project financed by Great Southern Bank, he said.

Hagerman and his partners will start preselling condos Aug. 3 through listing agent Michelle Cantrell at Carol Jones, Realtors. The condos, which should be complete next summer, will include reserved parking in nearby lots and will range from $180,000 to $350,000, Hagerman said.

Just south of the flea market, Papagiorgio’s Pizza has been forced out of its leased space at the southeast corner of South Avenue and Walnut Street.

Owner Todd Thurston has been involved in litigation with his landlord, Wehr Properties LLC, since late September, according to Greene County Circuit Court records. Last Friday, Circuit Judge Mark Powell authorized Wehr Properties to repossess the space leased by Papagiorgio’s, records show.

Teri Cobb with Wehr Properties was reluctant to provide details about the strained relationship.

“They are not leaving on their own accord,” she said. “I don’t know what the future holds.”

Papagiorgio’s employees began removing equipment and furniture from the restaurant late Monday and hauling it off in moving trucks. Thurston opened the pizzeria and sandwich shop in April 2006, according to archived Springfield Business Journal coverage.

Attempts to reach Thurston for comment were unsuccessful.

See SBJ’s July 23 issue for more about downtown Springfield’s redevelopment.