Menards seeks 40-acre annexation for west Springfield store

Two months after announcing plans to build a west Springfield store with a loose construction timeline, Menard Inc. officials asked City Council to annex over 40 acres for their development plans.

Property owners Donald and Patricia McCurry submitted the annexation request Dec. 15 for their 39 acres at 3705 W. Sunshine St., across from the Wal-Mart Supercenter and the 96-acre Springfield Plaza development.

The public hearing bill presented at the Feb. 23 council meeting also would move 6 acres of Greene County and Missouri Department of Transportation right-of-way into city limits.

With approval, Menards real estate representative Tyler Edwards said store construction would start this summer.

The Eau Claire, Wis.-based home improvement chain typically purchases property for store development, and in August, Menards paid $4 million for Springfield Public Schools’ former Hickory Hills School site near Chestnut Expressway and U.S. Highway 65, where it also plans to build a store.

Council members heard two bills related to Menards’ east-side plans. The company seeks to rezone 35 acres at 3429 E. Chestnut Expressway to a highway commercial district. Council previously approved a planned development on the site for Larino Properties’ Hickory Hills Marketplace with Menards as an anchor tenant, but those plans fell through and the property reverted to SPS. A public hearing bill  would terminate a community improvement district for the defunct Hickory Hills Marketplace development plan.

“We are not charging our customers extra sales tax,” Menards’ Edwards told council. “We are going to pay for it up front.”

With Menards as owner, Springfield Planning and Development Director Mary Lilly Smith said the highway commercial zoning would permit additional uses such as entertainment events, self-service storage facilities and wholesale sales.

On the West Sunshine plans, city staff members say a rezoning case to highway commercial would come before council at a later date.

“There are fairly significant issues that will have to be worked out,” Deputy City Manager Tim Smith said, citing off-site easement acquisitions.

Other concerns raised at the meeting include water runoff, traffic congestion and the closest fire district’s response time.

Steve Edmondson addressed council members on behalf of his mother, who lives across Farm Road 129. He said she is concerned about a 14-foot fence that would border the Menards property.

“That’s not a good thing for neighbors,” Edmondson told council. “I don’t believe Menards needs another store in Springfield, but if they do, let them do it a little farther west on Sunshine.”

Edwards confirmed the fence height in the Menards store designs, saying it provides security and a sound and light buffer on three sides.

City staff recommends annexation, citing additional sales and property taxes from the development.

Council is scheduled to vote on the three Menards bills during its March 9 meeting.

Menards has been on the Springfield radar since 2010. Serious talks have been ongoing since early 2012, beginning with another Larino Properties development plan  that never materialized.

With nearly 290 stores, Menards also plans to build in Hollister. Economic development officials in Taney County say the retailer could break ground next month.[[In-content Ad]]