Is $1M enough to redesign Springfield's square?

The last time Park Central Square received a facelift, the city paid for the project with hundreds of thousands of dollars from the federal government and downtown businesses.

Nearly three decades of inflation later, the city is again embarking on a square enhancement project with $1 million from Uncle Sam in the form of a Federal Highway Administration grant.

City officials say they realize the project will likely cost more than $1 million, but how much more will depend on which design concept wins the most public support and is within the budget.

About $150,000 of the grant already has been spent on the city’s contract with Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Inc., the local architecture firm leading a public input and design process that began in September.

That leaves the city roughly $850,000 for bricks-and-mortar improvements, which aren’t inexpensive. The city of Ozark has spent roughly $750,000 improving the streetscape around its historic downtown square.

“A million dollars won’t go as far as some people might think because of the infrastructure,” said city Public Works Director Phil Broyles.

“The things you have to put below the ground and pavement and sidewalk altogether mount up pretty quickly.”

A dwindling pot

Based on other public projects, Broyles estimated that sidewalk work around the square’s perimeter would cost between $100,000 and $150,000 per side, cutting the city’s budget by another half-million dollars or so.

In the best-case scenario, that leaves $450,000 for the center of the square, which many see as the centerpiece of the redesign. Butler, Rosenbury principal Tim Rosenbury said the final price tag would depend on a number of factors.

“We don’t know the extent of demolition, let alone the extent of construction, so it’s really hard for us to get a handle (on the cost),” he said. “We can do something for the money that’s available, and a complete redo of the square could be millions of dollars. It all just depends on what you do.”

Rosenbury added, “It’s a shopping cart, and the more stuff you put in the shopping cart, the higher that ticket’s going to be at the counter.”

Using public input gathered through surveys and an on-site brainstorming session last month, BRP is working with New York-based Project for Public Spaces to generate a conceptual matrix for the square. Various scenarios ranging in scope – the larger the scope, the higher the cost – will likely be unveiled to the public in late November, Rosenbury said.

City officials said they view the FHA’s 80-20 matching grant – the city had to pitch in $140,000 – as a starting point for what will likely be a phased project. While funding for future phases hasn’t been identified, Broyles said the city already is scouting grants, federal earmarks and possible private support to supplement the seed money.

“I don’t think the city’s wanting to go into any deep debt for that (project),” he said. “It’s probably going to be a multitude of (funding) sources.”

The developer variable

Another funding source that’s been discussed – but hasn’t yet been solidified – is a contribution from McGowan|Walsh, the St. Louis firm that has agreed to purchase and redevelop the Heer’s building on the square’s rundown west side.

In August, Springfield City Council approved a $3 million sale of the former department store to McGowan|Walsh, which is doing business as Heer’s Building LLC.

Under the agreement, the firm has until Sept. 1, 2008, to begin refurbishing the building as either a boutique hotel or condominiums.

When McGowan|Walsh co-founder Kevin McGowan was courting the city earlier this year, he said his firm was willing to commit money to the square project if the city agreed to spruce up the unremarkable public space.

The city’s agreement with McGowan doesn’t address a financial commitment from the developer, and officials said they did not know how much money McGowan might put toward the square project. Attempts to reach McGowan for comment were unsuccessful, but Broyles said other developers renovating buildings on the square may also figure in to the funding equation.

“(Developers) have talked favorably that property owners should get on the bandwagon,” he said. “We would sure welcome that, but I don’t think we hang our hat on it.”

Developer Craig Wagoner with Brentwood Management – the firm renovating the Kresge Building on the square’s south side – said a self-taxing community improvement district might be one option.

A portion of property or sales tax revenues generated by businesses in the district would then go toward square improvements or maintenance, he said.

“It’s just a possibility that’s been mentioned, but none of us have gotten together and said for sure we’ll do it or how much,” Wagoner said.

More federal money?

The $1 million grant the city secured to defray initial square redesign costs was the result of an earmark by U.S. Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, R-Mo.

Bond tagged the funding in a federal appropriations bill approved by Congress in 2005, said Mary Lilly Smith, the city’s economic development director. Since then, the city has received the necessary authorizations from the FHA to spend the money.

Smith said city officials routinely speak with representatives from southwest Missouri’s congressional delegation, which includes Bond, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and Congressman Roy Blunt, the House minority whip.

“We continue to talk to them about the community needs,” Smith said. “It’s just really hard to tell what may be forthcoming. … I never count on anything. It’s all manna from heaven when it does comes through.”

Shawna Marchio, the communication director for Bond’s office in Washington, D.C., said the senator “will continue to listen to local leaders, and if this is a priority … he will continue to use his position to help get funds, if possible.”

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