Landmarks Board first step ...Walgreens plans store at Civic Park entrance

by Paul Flemming

SBJ Staff

Developers for a proposed Walgreens will go before Springfield's Landmarks Board June 24 as the first step in approval for the project at the corner of Chestnut Expressway and National Avenue. The planned development is set for a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission July 2.

County records indicate the property at 601 N. National is now owned by Stephen Alsup.

David Knight, of Butler, Rosenbury & Partners, the firm doing site plan and zoning work on the project, said sale of the land to St. Louis-based Sansone Holding LLC is contingent on a zoning change from heavy manufacturing to a planned development for retail. Sansone, Knight said, is a preferred developer for Walgreens.

Alan Bates is performing architectural duties for the 13,905-square-foot building.

Butler Rosenbury is preparing the site plan for the 2.8-acre parcel.

"This is a good example of what all the (Civic Park) planning can do; it can attract private investment," Knight said.

Knight added that the building would be similar to the Walgreens recently built on Kearney Street.

The parcel is on the northeast corner of what will become Civic Park, abutting a future greenway along the southern edge of the property.

Design suggestions from the devel-

opers envision the building and land-

scaping serving as a "gateway" to Civic Park.

The more than 100-year-old Springfield Furniture Company building now occupies the property.

If approved, the Walgreens project would result in the demolition of that and other buildings.

A 1984 survey of buildings in the city listed the Springfield Furniture Company building as a potential site on the National Register of Historic Places, though the structure is not on that list.

Because of its inclusion in the survey, the Landmark Board hearing is required by city ordinance, Knight said. The Landmark Board will make a recommendation on the plans, but cannot halt the demolition of the building.

"This is a grade-A tenant in Walgreens," Knight said. "Because it's a larger site than what they necessarily need there is a building footprint that preserves view corridors and allows for use as a future gateway" to Civic Park.

The master plan for Civic Park, the initial phase of which is set to be around 35 acres southwest of the site, is not in place. Correspondence between the developer and city staff centered on accommodating that master plan.

"I would hope you could address the issues raised regarding the importance of this tract of land as a gateway and a key redevelopment parcel as identified in the Civic Park concept," wrote Fred May, the city's director of Planning and Development, in a June 1 letter to Sansone and Knight. "Landscaping and design will play an important role in how you address these issues."

Among the plans to address this, Knight noted the large southside setback planned to allow a buffer with future development of the greenway.

Other concerns raised in the case concern access to and traffic flow on National and Chestnut.

City planning staff expected to complete a report and recommendations by June 22.

If Planning and Zoning recommends approval of the planned development, the proposal would first go before City Council Aug. 3.

Calls to Sansone executives were not immediately returned.

INSET CAPTION:

The more than 100-year-old Springfield Furniture Company building now occupies the property.

If approved, the Walgreens project would result in the demolition of that and other buildings.[[In-content Ad]]