Meghan Chambers is the latest business owner with ties to downtown to sign up for space at Farmers Park, but her journey to the southeast Springfield development was a bit different than its other tenants.
Chambers moved her clothing retailer Staxx to 1632 E. Republic Road in 2012 after
getting the boot from the store's eight-year home at 331 South Ave. downtown. Her landlord, former Springfield Mayor Tom Carlson of Mid America Management, sold the property to Great Southern Bank for the Springfield banking company's new downtown branch.
Chambers also plans to relocate her children's clothing boutique Jellybeans to Farmers Park from its current space at the Brentwood Shopping Center, located across from Battlefield Mall on South Glenstone Avenue. Both stores are slated to open at Farmers Park in May, according to a news release.
"I feel the stores complement the eclectic mix of both new and expanding local businesses that already exist at Farmers Park, each with its own unique presence and mission,” Chambers said in the release. “Rooted in Springfield, for 10 and 20 years, respectively, Staxx and Jellybeans are homegrown businesses."
Other Farmers Park tenants with downtown ties are opening second locations at the environmentally friendly, mixed-use development near James River Freeway on Republic Road.
Downtown businesses Aviary Cafe and Creperie LLC, Five Pound Apparel LLC, Studio 417 and Hudson Hawk Barber & Shop all have plans to open second locations at the $22 million Farmers Park developed by Matt O’Reilly and silent partners of Green Circle Projects LLC.
For Springfield Business Journal's March story "
The Promise of Farmers Park," O'Reilly said the mixed-use park may be attractive to downtown businesses because it mimics an urban environment. Commercial lease rates at Farmers Park are $17.50 per square foot, triple net, he said.
Construction of Farmers Park, which centers around Farmers Market of the Ozarks and offers residential, office and retail space, is expected to be finished next month. A grand opening for the development is scheduled for mid-May, the release said.[[In-content Ad]]
