Jack Engel's investment paying off at 65 |amp| CC

Back in 1974, Highway 65 was a two-lane road and there was no exit or overpass where highways CC and J intersect Highway 65, north of Ozark. But Fremont Hills developer Jack Engel saw that Springfield was moving south, and the area held promise for commercial development.

Engel started buying land on the southwest corner of the intersection, eventually accumulating 100 acres, about half of which he has since sold.

"I knew its day was going to come," Engel said. He started developing infrastructure in the area five years ago. "It was still early when I started the commercial development, but it takes so long for it to come together," he said.

"Jack Engel went out a long time ago and invested in it. He sat on it and had the foresight to wait on it," said Ken Schwab, a commercial real estate agent with Wilhoit Properties.

The area is booming with activity now, with office space, a 400-seat Fried Green T'amadas restaurant preparing to open, and plans for more townhouses and a child care center.

At the entrance to the development is Rapid Roberts No. 115, a gas station/convenience store that has been at the corner of 22nd Street and CC for eight years.

A 10,000-square-foot, two-level office building owned by Dr. Bernard Tellez was built by Chaffin and Chaffin and opened in fall 1999 at 5349 22nd Street.

It contains Tellez's Fremont Hills Dental Centre and offices for State Farm Insurance, Edward Jones Investments and a masseuse.

There are 5,000 square feet remaining for lease in the building's lower level, according to Schwab, who is leasing the property.

Stan Moore of Stan Moore & Associates, Branson, and co-lister R.B. Murray Co. have sold 30 out of 48 lots in the area of Towne Centre Drive.

Moore said the reason for the area's popularity goes back to the three most important words in real estate: location, location, location.

"According to the county, that is the center of growth where everything radiates around.

There are about 4,000 residential lots under development or with homes already on them between highways 14 and 60," Moore said.

Residential development in the south portion of Towne Centre Drive already includes 150 apartments and 56 townhouses, with about 65 more townhouses to be built this spring, according to Moore. A day-care center will be built next to the townhouses, Moore added.

"Mostly the property buyers are local from Springfield, Ozark, Nixa and Branson," Moore said.

"It's a very attractive location for a lot of different types of businesses. We have 18 lots left to sell. I started selling them four to five years ago, but it finally came together. CPC Tile moved there from Springfield a couple of years ago. Not having an anchor took it a while to get off the ground, but it's kicked off the last couple of years," Moore added.

Fried Green T'amadas joins CC lineup

Tricia Derges is the president of the new restaurant Fried Green T'amadas, set to open April 15 at 5101 Fremont Towne Centre Drive.

Derges is no stranger to the area.

She and her husband, Dan Derges, own the manufacturing company Mostly Memories, across the highway at 1420 W. Skyline, and they live in nearby Fremont Hills.

She said building the 400-seat restaurant, which sits on 3.5 acre hilltop overlooking Highway 65, has been her dream for three years.

R.E. Smith Construction Co. of Joplin is the general contractor for the project.

"We will be in the business of entertaining people," Derges said. The decor in three seating areas will suggest a theater, a school and a farm. Patrons can sit on swings, theater seats, toilet seats or booths built by Amish craftsmen. They can dine inside an old pickup truck or a school bus.

Derges and four partners are counting on down-home good food, unique decor, costumed servers and amenities such as a bus drivers' lounge, Internet access, a 5,000 square-foot gift shop, a dessert and sweet row and 24-hour service to pull locals and travelers off of busy Highway 65.

Choosing that area for her restaurant was a "no-brainer. It's the last logical retail spot between here and Branson. And there's heavy traffic on 65 it's always busy," Derges said.

Fried Green T'amadas will employ 150 to 200 people.

Derges said she is working hard to foster friendly relations between her restaurant and Lambert's Caf, which is just a roll's throw away.

"When you put several restaurants together, you draw more people," she said.

There's more than enough business for everyone."

Fremont Towne Centre to open in April

Just to the north, the Fremont Towne Centre is set to open around April 20, according to Ron Tappan, a commercial real estate agent with CJR Commercial Group.

The 14,800-square-foot, L-shaped building at 5301 Towne Centre Drive is owned by Fremont Towne Center LLC, according to Tappan.

The owner hopes to attract a restaurant plus various retail businesses to the 1,500-square-foot bays that can be combined into larger spaces.

"When Ozark put infrastructure out there it was a help to everybody. The James River Assembly is there now, and Lambert's has always been a big attraction," Tappan said.

Having "lots of rooftops" in the area, the Ozark Mountain Ducks and the widening of CC/J are other positive factors. "All those things add up to a very attractive corner," Tappan said.

Howard Bailey Company is the general contractor on the Fremont Towne Centre.

The Team mushes south to Ozark

The Team, a Springfield advertising agency, is preparing for a July move into a new two-story, 8,300-square-foot building on Towne Centre Drive, overlooking a pond.

Jeff Johnson, president of The Team, said Yukon Territories LLC bought the land, constructed the building via general contractor Chaffin and Chaffin and is leasing it to The Team. The Team now employs 12 people, but the building can hold up to 27.

Yukon Territories is a real estate company created by shareholders in The Team for the purpose of building the space and leasing it back to the ad agency, Johnson said.

"From Yukon Territories' perspective, it was a real attractive land investment," Johnson said.

"We don't need the retail frontage that others do, because people just don't walk in for advertising services. But from an investment standpoint, to be anchored there and be in the middle of an interchange that will have 2,500 homes within five miles is very attractive," Johnson added.

About half of The Team's employees live in Fremont Hills, Nixa and Ozark, according to Johnson.

"And for us sports nuts, it puts us close to three golf courses and minor league baseball. It makes it fun to be located there," he said.