Hammons pact raises questions over Highway 60 plan

John Q. Hammons developed Highland Springs in the late 1980s.

Last edited 3:36 p.m., Nov. 19, 2025 [Editor's note: An earlier version of this article included a photo of a building that is no longer part of Highland Springs Country Club.]

A nearly 40-year-old agreement between late developer John Q. Hammons and Missouri transportation officials is emerging as a key factor in discussions about changes to U.S. Highway 60 near Springfield city limits.

Hammons, who developed the Highland Springs commercial and residential project in the late 1980s, signed an agreement with former Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission Chair John C. Cozad in January 1988. That pact appears to guarantee direct access to Highland Springs from Highway 60.

This agreement was referenced in a March 3 letter sent to the Missouri Department of Transportation – governed by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission – by Spencer Fane LLP attorney Richard Walters on behalf of client Atrium Hospitality LP, which owns Highland Springs Country Club and unsold residential lots within the development. The letter argues that removing direct access would trigger “substantial takings damages” owed to Atrium and other property owners.

MoDOT is in the early stages of an initiative that would remove driveways and intersections with direct Highway 60 access along the stretch from the 60/65 interchange to Route 125 in Rogersville, with the existing interchange at Routes NN/J serving as the only access point to Highway 60, according to a June 2023 draft document of the plan. Safety concerns and freeway considerations have been cited by the transportation entity, which intends to build outer roads from NN/J to the impacted business and residential areas.

In the 1988 document obtained by Springfield Business Journal, Hammons agreed to remove an access point to Highway 60, called Black Hawk Road, in exchange for direct access to the highway at the Highland Springs Boulevard intersection that he would develop. Walters’ letter contends that MoDOT does not have the right to remove that access now.

“The rights granted under the direct access agreement have been, and continue to be, relied upon by Hammons and his successors in the development, operation and sale of properties in the Highland Springs development,” Walters wrote. “Removal of the existing access point would constitute a taking of Atrium’s real property interests. This would result in MoDOT being liable to Atrium for millions of dollars in damages.”

MoDOT Southwest District engineer Stacy Reese could not be reached for comment by press time, but in a statement to SBJ, the department said, “MoDOT continues to meet with property owners along the corridor to listen to their concerns. Safety remains MoDOT’s top priority.”

Ongoing discussions
Tyler Padgitt, lead pastor at The Courageous Church, was among a group of businesspeople who met with MoDOT on March 12 to discuss the Highway 60 plan. He said the meeting included representatives from Atrium, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame that sits at the front of Highland Springs and businesses along the impacted stretch of Highway 60.

Padgitt, who has been vocal about concerns over access changes, said the Hammons document was raised at the meeting.

“They want to litigate the agreement in a way that they want to explore its validity,” he said. “Where’s the institutional memory here?”

MoDOT has said public feedback on the initiative would be collected later this year through in-person and online forums. The Highway 60 project is tentatively set for bidding in fall 2028, with construction expected to start the following year and finish in the early 2030s.

Larry Childress, who with his family owns some 600 acres that are mostly northeast of the 60/65 interchange, is among those seeking solutions. Childress told SBJ last month that MoDOT initially approved an interchange that would serve his family’s acreage on Highway 65, north of the 60/65 interchange, 15-20 years ago, followed by approval around a decade ago for a “dog-bone” style interchange at the Farm Road 189 intersection. The Farm Road 189 access point on Highway 60 connects vehicles directly to the Childress family’s acreage, Courageous Church’s south location, a Citizens Bank of Rogersville branch and a growing list of business interests. Highland Springs Boulevard is just west of Farm Road 189.

Childress has said he would be in discussions with MoDOT as part of his goal of reviving talks for his acreage in a public-private partnership with City Utilities of Springfield and its Lake Springfield master plan.

“It totally ruins the development possibilities for any kind of commercial on 60,” Childress told SBJ last month of MoDOT’s planned Highway 60 initiative.

Hammons history
The founder of John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, Hammons died in 2013 at age 94 after he built 210 hotels across 40 states over five decades, according to SBJ archives. Following Hammons’ death, much of his estate was acquired via bankruptcy proceedings by JD Holdings LLC, owned by Jonathan Eilian, who operates Atrium Hospitality.

Eilian’s operation in 2018 took ownership of the Hammons real estate portfolio, including Highland Springs. SBJ reporting at the time put the value of the bankruptcy court-approved asset purchase at $1 billion.

Eilian, the largest creditor in the Hammons estate bankruptcy case, purchased 35 hotels and nearly 150 other assets as part of the deal.

Walters’ letter to MoDOT this month spells out Atrium’s ownership rights in Highland Springs.

“Atrium has succeeded to Hammons rights as the developer of the Highland Springs development, including Hammons’ rights as declarant and developer under the declaration for the Highland Springs Community Association, and as the successor-owner of the unsold parcels in the Highland Springs development and as the successor-owner and operator of the country club,” Walters wrote in the letter.

The roughly 600-acre Highland Springs Country Club includes an 18-hole golf course, three-story clubhouse and more than 300 single-family lots or private homes, according to its website.

Hammons purchased the land for Highland Springs 20 years before construction began with the vision of creating the next premier country club in Springfield, according to SBJ archives.