For Sale: Center City Lofts

“I probably wasn’t looking for work. It just came onto my plate,” he said, pausing to glance at his newest acquisition, a two-building complex connected by a walkway. “It’s a cool building.”

The abandoned furniture company and warehouse at the corner of Chestnut Expressway and National Avenue piqued the Springfield developer’s interest years ago. That interest was rekindled earlier this year when he learned Scott Tillman, another downtown developer, was looking for a buyer.

Wagoner, who wasn’t necessarily looking to take on another significant renovation project, purchased the brick behemoth from Tillman for an undisclosed amount. Wagoner’s company, Brentwood Management, is currently restoring two downtown buildings: Olive Place, the former Finkbiner Moving & Storage building at 513 W. Olive St. and the Kresge, the former Rockwell music venue at 124 Park Central Square.

But juggling the projects doesn’t seem to bother Wagoner, who recently began clearing the 120,000-square-foot complex formerly used by Springfield Paintball. Signs of the combat still remain, Wagoner said, noting that interior walls are covered in brightly colored splatter marks left by the paint-filled projectiles.

The Lofts at Jordan Creek will be divided into two phases.

In the first phase, Wagoner said, the second and third floors of the larger building to the north will be converted into 20 condominium lofts with one, two and three bedrooms. The lofts will have an open floor plan and will range in size from 900 to 2,800 square feet.

While most Center City lofts are leased, Wagoner hopes to sell the units once the more than $10 million renovation is complete.

“I think there’s a market for this,” he said, mentioning young professionals. “Some people say, ‘The rental market’s good, why would you change?’ But in larger markets like St. Louis, 90 percent of the lofts are being sold.”

According to the Urban Districts Alliance, there are 271 leased loft apartments in Center City, including 34 units on Commercial Street, and the occupancy rate is 98 percent.

But a distinct shift toward condo lofts for sale is occurring, said UDA Executive Director Rusty Worley. More than 50 are expected to come on line within the next year or so, including the redeveloped Aesthetic Concerns, Mister Furniture and Turner Store buildings.

For-sale condos were the most successful aspect of Jefferson City developer Vaughn Prost’s Heer’s Tower plan that has yet to materialize.

The downtown housing market has matured in recent years, Worley said, due in large part to empty nesters and other financially stable demographic groups demanding equity in urban dwellings. These individuals are drawn to downtown’s fine-dining establishments and art galleries, and they like the idea of a smaller space with less maintenance, he added.

Some time next month, Wagoner expects to put the finishing touches on a model unit he’ll use to presell the lofts, which will incorporate exposed brick and the building’s huge rectangular windows.

The Lofts at Jordan Creek may be a few blocks from downtown, but tenants are within walking distance of Jordan Valley Park and Hammons Field, Wagoner said.

The first floor of the north building will be converted into retail, office or warehouse space, Wagoner said, and a smaller building to the south will be renovated at a later time for the project’s second phase.

Butler, Rosenbury & Partners is the architect for the Lofts at Jordan Creek, and Wagoner is acting as contractor.

Wagoner has applied for state tax credits to offset the cost of brownfield remediation work inside.

Last week, the Missouri Department of Economic Development approved $289,726 in tax credits for Wagoner’s $2.5 million redevelopment of the asbestos-laden Kresge building.

The 26,000-square-foot building will eventually be home to a storefront branch of the Springfield-Greene County Library District, a sandwich shop and office tenants Wagoner is working to line up. Seven lofts will occupy the building’s second floor.

The library is still working out the details for its space in the Kresge, but Community Relations Coordinator Jeanne Duffey said the “nontraditional facility” would specialize in arts and media and cater to downtown residents. Duffey said specifics would likely be worked out by late next year before building renovations wrap up.

Wagoner said work on the Kresge and the Lofts at Jordan Creek will pick up once the lofts at Olive Place are done, which should be a matter of weeks.

Olive Place is situated along Jordan Valley Park’s West Meadow, an area west of Main Street the city envisions as a recreational area akin to the green space in Jordan Valley Park. Seven lofts on the second floor will rent for $700 to $2,500 a month, and Wagoner said he will lease about 5,000 square feet in the building’s lower level to office tenants.

The Wagoner Plate

Lofts at Jordan Creek

Location: Chestnut and National

Uses: For-sale lofts and retail, office or warehouse space

Loft prices: starting at $129,000

Rehab cost: $10 million to $12 million

Square feet: 120,000

Olive Place

Location: Olive and Main

Uses: Leased lofts and office space

Loft lease rates: $700 to $2,500

Rehab cost: $2.5 million

Square feet: 20,000

Kresge

Location: South and McDaniel

Uses: Leased lofts, sandwich shop, office space and library branch

Loft lease rates: Comparable to Olive Place

Rehab cost: $2.5 million

Square feet: 26,000[[In-content Ad]]