New owner draws plans for A and B Cycle building

The A|amp|B Cycle building will relinquish its reign as a downtown retail destination late this summer, giving way to a nightclub and restaurant under new ownership.

Springfield restaurateur Michael Ngo's $860,000 contract for the building at 220 W. Walnut St. closed April 25. Ngo plans to convert the downstairs space into a nightclub and create three different attractions upstairs. Ngo is working with architect Chris Ball of Jack Ball |amp| Associates to design a martini bar in the northeast corner of the building, a billiards room in the northwest corner and an Oriental bistro south of the billiards room.

|quot|Right now I'm working on my plans,|quot| Ngo said. |quot|I'm trying to get variety.|quot|

A|amp|B Cycle owner Rich Howell is moving his 78-year-old downtown business to south Springfield, closer to his customer base. A $750,000 store under construction at National Avenue and Primrose Street is set to open in July or August.

Ngo will take possession of the downtown site when A|amp|B Cycle moves out.

Downtown theme

While the plans don't exactly jibe with what other downtown developers have been pushing for retail and residential development Urban Districts Alliance Director Bill Compere is glad the large space will be occupied.

|quot|The market determines what's going to come in downtown,|quot| Compere said. |quot|After all, the restaurants and nightclubs were (what) really started the renewal for downtown.|quot|

Ngo initially wanted to build lofts upstairs, but scratched those plans because of the nightclub's noise factor, he said. Ngo wants two separate dance floors in the club, playing different styles of music.

Ngo hopes to continue the destination status of the building. He is prepared to invest $800,000 to renovate the building.

This is Ngo's second downtown undertaking; the first never got started. Ngo had big plans to open an upscale seafood restaurant named Seahorse at 310 South Avenue. He was working with local artist Dean Bracy when the plans fell through, and Ngo focused his attention on Copper Station, the renovated former Shoney's on North Glenstone Avenue.

Ngo, whose expertise is in Oriental cuisine, admitted he was unfamiliar with the seafood menu and said that was a factor in the change of plans.

|quot|I'm searching and looking for a good chef to back me up and make me want to do it,|quot| Ngo said of the Seahorse. |quot|I still have the blueprints. I could go through with it, but I'm not sure.|quot|

Returning south

Moving A|amp|B Cycle to south Springfield was a no-brainer, Howell said, considering 80 percent of his customers live south of Sunshine Street.

|quot|It's all about convenience,|quot| he said.

The move will actually be a return to the south side. A|amp|B Cycle had a secondary location on South Campbell that Howell sold in the late 1990s.

The new store is modeled after the Walnut Street location, but is a scaled-down version: 11,400 square feet compared to 22,000 square feet.

|quot|We don't need as much space,|quot| Howell said. |quot|If we were trying to duplicate this building, I'd go broke.|quot|