Heer's Tower agents courting tenants

The building is currently undergoing asbestos abatement and selective demolition work, and water and electricity have been restored to support construction efforts, according to building developer Vaughn Prost, who owns the building through Springfield Office Building LLC.

Finding tenants

Leasing efforts continue as well. Larry Grover of CJR Commercial Group, the leasing agent for the building, said that a deal is close to completion for the major first floor space: a 9,000-square-foot fine dining restaurant.

“He has signed a letter of intent for the space, but a letter of intent is not a lease,” Grover said, declining to name the interested party.

Prost Builders released sketches of the floor plan for the main and mezzanine levels, including the proposed restaurant, which would be on the main floor with open space above.

Grover said that the proposed restaurateur is not local, but that they were eager to get him on board.

“We’re saving the space for this guy because we think it will be such a good thing for the building,” he said. “With the other tenants, it’s like a jigsaw puzzle; until they all fit in, we don’t know where we’re going to put certain people.”

Approximately 80,000 square feet of the available 150,000 square feet of space been spoken for through letters of intent.

Proposed tenants include a clothing boutique, a hair salon and a second restaurant for the building’s food court.

And in case the main restaurant falls through, a backup is in place, Grover said.

He hopes to be able to announce official agreements in the next few weeks.

Two signed tenants are city and state governments.

The city is leasing 5,000 square feet on the first floor for TV23 and another 10,000 square feet on the lower level to house a new transportation management center.

The state is slated to lease 15,000 square feet for the Department of Health and Senior Services.

Government lease rates will be contingent on how the space is finished, ranging anywhere from $8 to $11 per square foot; Grover has said commercial lease rates range from $13.25 to $22 a square foot.

Grover said the developer is aiming for an October 2006 opening.

Across the street

Meanwhile, work also is beginning on the neighboring College Station development, where a parking lot at the intersection of College Street and Campbell Avenue has been cordoned off to make way for the construction of a multilevel parking garage and retail center.

College Station developer Scott Tillman purchased the lot from the city May 4. In exchange, the city is issuing bonds to fund construction of a parking garage there.

Tillman’s agreement with the city says 50 percent of the space available in the development must be leased before the city will begin design and construction work for the garage.

Tillman has yet to announce any leases, but has said he is negotiating with cinema operators.

“(Tillman) has ongoing relationships with those companies, and it’s a little bit premature for me to say what’s going to happen,” said Mike MacPherson, construction development specialist with the city.

Deadline approaches

Tillman has 18 months to secure the leases; if not, he can request an extension, with penalty, or give the land back to the city, said Mary Lilly Smith, city economic development director.

Several calls to Tillman’s office were not returned by press time.

Prost has a similar agreement with the city.

His is contingent on securing financing for the construction, at which time the city will issue a design build contract, Smith said.

The timeframe for construction is up to the developers.

“In both cases, the ball is in the developers’ courts,” Smith said. “Once they have those agreements, things will get rolling.”

The cost for the city to build the two garages is estimated to be

$11 million to $12 million, based on 1,000 spaces at $11,000 to $12,000

per space.

Construction of each deck should take about nine months from start to finish, plus three to six months for design and planning.

For related coverage from Aug. 9, 2005, click here.