No. 10: Development plans for Sunshine, National corner kept on hold

The fate of the busy northwest corner of Sunshine Street and National Avenue was in limbo throughout 2023 as zoning policy and legal wrangling kept development efforts in stasis in the University Heights neighborhood.

Developer BK&M LLC, which owns multiple residential properties on the corner, tore down the house at 1755 S. National Ave. in 2022 and another at 1133 E. Sunshine St. in June. The property stood vacant the rest of this year.

The company also offered new iterations of a plan for the corner. The original vision, offered in 2022, was for a building up to six stories and 90,000 square feet – a design developers promoted as shielding the neighborhood from the noise and traffic of the city’s second-busiest intersection.

Shortly after, BK&M rolled out a smaller concept for The Heights, which would rise to two or three stories while still wrapping around the corner. Then, in April, the company pivoted with the idea of establishing a high-end grocery store or a restaurant.

In December, the developer released its fourth concept for the corner: a 26,500-square-foot food hall with indoor and outdoor pickleball courts. Food halls are trending nationwide, Ralph Duda of BK&M told the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission, citing the popularity of 14 Mill Market in Nixa.

P&Z again denied the rezoning request, with Commissioner Bruce Colony noting there was no guarantee a food hall would be the final outcome for the corner.

Duda told Springfield Business Journal he saw the commissioners’ decision as a sign that they and the neighbors would prefer a planned development proposal, pinning down the exact use for the land.

“My partners and I are discussing and open to accommodating their request,” he said via text after the Dec. 14 meeting.

Even as city government debates the best use for the corner, the outcome might be determined by Greene County Circuit Court Judge Derek Adam Ankrom. The case Dixie Sleight et al. v. BK&M LLC et al. is scheduled for trial Jan. 18-19, 2024. Prior to that, a hearing is scheduled for Dec. 27 to determine if the trial should move forward, according to court records.

Neighbors are suing BK&M in an attempt to uphold century-old deed restrictions that allow only residential development in the neighborhood. If the deed restrictions are upheld, commercial development efforts would be halted.

While the deed restriction issue is particular to University Heights, the city’s Forward SGF comprehensive plan identifies a need for updating some of the city’s major corridors, like the Sunshine/National corner.

In a story about residential housing needs published this month in SBJ, developer Sam Coryell of Coryell Collaborative Group said the city has infill development opportunities.

“Some of our major arteries were developed in the 1960s and ’70s, and they’re ready for redevelopment,” he said. “There are opportunities there to take advantage of existing infrastructure and put a parcel of land to its better use.”

Forward SGF states, “The highest traveled corridors should be targeted for public and private improvements, as they would have significant impact in improving the city’s physical image, catalyzing attractive development and building community pride.”