Menards plans second Springfield store

Eau Claire, Wis.-based home improvement chain Menard Inc. confirmed plans to develop two stores in the Queen City.

In August, Menards signed a $4 million contract to purchase Springfield Public Schools’ former Hickory Hills School property near Chestnut Expressway and U.S. 65, where it plans to build a new store. Now, a spokesman for the company said plans are in the works to build a second location northwest of the Wal-Mart Supercenter at South West Bypass and West Sunshine Street.

It is unclear, however, when the new stores could be up and running.

“We hope to build two new stores in Springfield sometime in the future, although no official timeline has been established just yet as we’re still working through the approval process at this point,” spokesman Jeff Abbott said in an emailed statement.

Abbott said the second Springfield Menard’s would be built at 3705 W. Sunshine St., just north of the 96-acre Springfield Plaza mixed-use development taking shape west of Wal-Mart. In October, Springfield Business Journal reported BioLife Plasma Services LP was building its second Queen City location on a 3-acre lot within Springfield Plaza. The $6.5 million, nearly 17,000-square-foot building, which is expected to be complete in May, represents the first tenant for the $78 million Springfield Plaza.

Abbott declined to provide additional details about either project, or why the Sunshine site was selected.  

According to Greene County assessor records, the 40-acre West Sunshine property is owned by Donald McCurry and holds a 2014 taxable appraised value of $125,600. The vacant lot sits at the northwest corner of Farm Road 129 and Sunshine Street.