MSU, Vecino Group sign letter of intent for JVIC

The Missouri State University Board of Governors and The Vecino Group LLC signed a letter of intent for a $14.4 million expansion of the school’s downtown Jordan Valley Innovation Center. It’s part of plans to improve the school’s IDEA Commons area.

Approved at the board’s Dec. 12 meeting, the deal calls on The Vecino Group to develop another 30,000 square feet to the existing property at 524 Boonville Ave. Reliant on at least $2.5 million in new market tax credits, the expansion would be leased to MSU for a proposed 37 years, according to university documents provided to Springfield Business Journal.

MSU spokeswoman Andrea Mostyn said two floors of unoccupied space, fronting Phelps Street, would be demolished to make way for the three-floor expansion.

The MSU Foundation is committing at least $3 million to the project, according to the letter of intent documentation. It’s one priority identified in the university’s $250 million Onward Upward capital campaign.

The Vecino Group also plans to build a 100,000-square-foot office building on MSU property downtown, as well as a parking garage, but those projects were not included in the JVIC letter of intent. Up to $55 million in improvements to MSU’s downtown IDEA Commons is in the works, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.