Field stands at four: Arena site proposals

That firm, Minneapolis-based Opus Northwest LLC, instead proposed a corporate headquarters building with 100,000 to 150,000 square feet, depending on the number and size of interested office tenants.

“I think there’s a real strong chance you can get a signature office building there,” said Dave Harrison, vice president of real estate development for Opus Northwest’s Kansas City office. “Our whole approach is let’s try to do that, and if somebody can do a hotel later and there’s room on the site, great.”

According to its proposal, Opus consulted an independent hotelier who said that “current market conditions, rack rates and occupancy do not justify the development of the suggested hotel component at this time.”

Opus also would either enter a long-term lease of the neighboring Jordan Valley Car Park or acquire part of the garage for $3,200 per pace.

In April, the city issued a request for proposals – the second round of requests for the 1.7-acre parcel between the Springfield Exposition Center and the car park – that explicitly asked developers to include an office building with at least 100,000 square feet of Class A office space and a four-star hotel with at least 150 rooms.

Branson-based HCW Evergreen LLC, Springfield hotelier John Q. Hammons and BC Development of Kansas City all submitted proposals that appear to fulfill the minimum criteria laid out in the RFP.

All four firms will present their proposals to the Tax Abatement and Tax Increment Financing Commission at 1:30 p.m. June 4 in the Busch Municipal Building, 840 Boonville Ave.

Mary Lilly Smith, the city’s economic development director, said no timeline has been established for selecting a developer. Smith said she expected additional time would likely be needed to negotiate financial details before commissioners make a recommendation to City Council.

“In all cases, we’re going to need to sit down with each of the developers and understand the dynamics of their projects,” Smith said, noting that she plans to schedule meetings with each firm as soon as possible.

Rivalry endures

A rivalry between Hammons and HCW Evergreen – led by President Rick Huffman and financed by Lebanon businessman Robert Plaster – appears alive and well.

Both firms submitted proposals in February, when the city received responses from its initial RFP, and again in late May. HCW Evergreen’s proposal hasn’t changed significantly in the last three months, but Hammons has drastically revised his plans.

Suggesting a hotel wasn’t appropriate for the former arena site, Hammons initially proposed a corporate headquarters for BKD LLP accounting firm with first-floor restaurant and retail space – a concept nixed by the TIF Commission.

Just days after commissioners passed on his proposal, though, Hammons announced he would build a four-star hotel on the south side of St. Louis Street across from the expo center and adjacent to University Plaza Hotel. He has since publicly reneged, suggesting the proposed hotel wasn’t a good business move.

Hammons is now proposing a 14-story high-rise with office space on the second through sixth floors and an all-suite hotel on the top seven floors, as well as 50 underground parking spaces. The tower’s ground floor would also be associated with the 150-room Embassy Suites hotel, according to his proposal.

Architects Butler, Rosenbury & Partners would design the proposed tower, and Killian Group of Cos. would be the general contractor for the $50 million project. Hammons’ property management company, Plaza Realty & Management Services, would manage the property. Hammons would negotiate the sale of the land and an agreement for 750 spaces in the adjacent car park.

HCW Evergreen – the firm seen as Hammons’ main competitor throughout the selection process and the first one to formally propose a hotel for the site – has modified its original proposal by reducing the number of hotel rooms and doubling the office space.

HCW Evergreen’s proposal includes a 200-room Hilton or Embassy Suites hotel with 30 residential condominiums on the upper floors and 120,000 square feet of office space, half of which would be leased to BKD. Suttle Mindlin of St. Louis is the project architect, and construction would begin in March 2008 at the earliest, according to the proposal.

HCW Evergreen has proposed a 99-year property lease, with monthly payments deferred for 10 years. The firm also has offered to purchase 801 parking spaces in the car park for $5 million to $6 million, contingent upon the creation of a community improvement tax district.

New firm on the block

Another new firm in the mix is BC Development, a Kansas City company that’s proposing a seven-story tower with 120,000 square feet of office space atop a 300-room hotel, possibly under Wyndham or Starwood.

Principals Cathy Baier and Dan Carr, along with consultant Rick Baier, also are exploring the possibility of integrating 54,000 square feet of executive condos into the building design, according to the firm’s proposal.

The Baiers are partnering with Becky Spence, who owns The Arbor motel in downtown Springfield. Rick Baier said his firm’s proposal includes a possible land swap involving The Arbor, 505 St. Louis St.

Omaha, Neb.-based DLR Group would design and engineer the proposed hotel-office tower, and one of three construction companies being interviewed by the firm would serve as the project’s general contractor.

Assuming incentives are in place to assist with parking subsidies, BC Development plans to buy the city’s car park when a certificate of occupancy is issued for its hotel development.

BC Development developed the $92 million Sheraton Hotel and Convention Center in Overland Park, Kan., and the $22 million EPA Region 7 Science and Technology Center in Kansas City, Kan., according to its proposal. The company’s local projects include Cherrystone Office Building on South Glenstone and Corporate Centre on East Sunshine Street. BC Development also has partnered with Citizens Memorial Healthcare to develop and lease medical office space in Bolivar.[[In-content Ad]]