From the Ground Up: Sankofa

Owner: Vecino Group LLC
General contractor: Vecino Construction LLC
Architects: Vecino Design LLC, project; and Own Inc., landscape
Engineers: Own Inc., civil; Stand Structural Engineering Inc. (Overland Park, Kansas), structural; and Vecino Design, mechanical, electrical and plumbing
Consultant: Oke-Thomas and Associates Inc., commercial and minority and women-owned business enterprise consultant
Size: 43,000 square feet
Cost: $13.5 million
Lenders/Funding sources: Bank of Missouri, Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust, Greene County American Rescue Plan Act funds, city of Springfield Home ARP funds and Bring It Home LLC
Estimated completion: Spring 2026
Project description: With a name whose origin is in the Adinkra language of Ghana, Sankofa means “learning from the past ensures a strong future,” according to the Vecino Group LLC website. A new four-story building rising on historic Commercial Street is the first from-the-ground-up development to be built there in 50 years, it adds. The plans are for 42 affordable housing units ranging from studio to two-bedroom designs, plus five ground-level commercial spaces, one already claimed by the Multicultural Business Association for an incubator space. The development is sited on what used to be an empty lot next door to the headquarters of The Vecino Group, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.