Jesters building three new developments

Bill and Nancy Jester, a couple who have spent their lives in the Springfield-Bolivar area, have 19 commercial properties and are building three new office-retail developments.

According to a news release from Resource Development Inc., the couple's consulting firm, the three new projects will bring the Jesters' commercial real estate holdings to more than 350,000 square feet of leasable space.

Those projects are Tuscany Court, located at 1343 E. Kingsley; French Quarter Plaza at 1600 E. Republic Road; and Battlefield Towers, located on the northeast corner of Battlefield and Lone Pine. All are scheduled for completion in May-June 2001.

Tuscany Court features a Southwest style in design and will provide approximately 30,000 square feet of office-retail space. Healthsouth, a rehabilitation center, has already leased a suite in the development.

Battlefield Towers is a 20,000-square- foot contemporary retail development in which AT&T Wireless, Mailboxes, Etc., Fuddruckers and Schultz & Dooleys III have signed leases, even though the building is only 30 percent complete. Lone Pine and Battlefield are two of the main corridors for Springfield and yet, according to Bill Jester, among the most underserved.

Battlefield Towers, Jester said, is bringing much needed neighborhood services to the Southern Hills area as well as the many residential subdivisions south of Battlefield and east of Highway 65.

French Quarter Plaza is located on the fast-growing southern end of the Glenstone-Republic retail zone.

This project, with a distinct French Quarter ambience, is designed for retail and restaurant tenants.

It features piped-in music, special lighting, a central plaza paved with stones, wrought-iron balconies and a mezzanine.

The project will be anchored by an 8,500-square-foot restaurant called Chardonnay, featuring a steak, seafood and pasta menu with a full bar. The structure will occupy approximately 33,000 square feet.