Opinion: Hammons calls Huffman into the ring

If you haven’t noticed, downtown Springfield has become a boxing ring of sorts, where developers John Q. Hammons and Rick Huffman are sparring over a 1.7-acre vacant parcel.

Last week’s cover story, “Holding Their Ground,” exposed the details, but here’s a quick recap: A city commission narrows development proposals for a lot downtown, excluding Hammons, the city’s all-time developer (Round 1). In turn, Hammons quickly announces “his vision” to build across the street a hotel similar to one of the pending proposals – Huffman’s (Round 2).

It seems to be a ploy by Hammons to either scare off Huffman and his upscale hotel/condo building that would nearly rival Hammons Tower in size or sway the commission’s vote to BKD’s office towers – the other plan still in consideration – which Hammons has a chance to develop.

The key here is that days after Hammons’ representatives told Springfield Tax Abatement and Tax Increment Financing commissioners that their company’s financial analysis didn’t justify another hotel downtown, the head honcho drops down “his vision” for downtown Springfield: another hotel. It’s as if he’s saying, “Partner, this town’s only big enough for one of us – me.”

Huffman deflected that right jab, which resulted in the number of his Hilton or Embassy Suites rooms being cut in half to 150; kudos to him for not backing down.

Speculation in the business community is running rampant. Rumors range from Hammons blacklisting architects/builders who agree to work with Huffman to comments that this feud began in Branson, where Huffman’s Branson Landing and soon-to-open convention center hotel is expected to take away business from Hammons’ Chateau on the Lake. Hammons’ right-hand-man, Scott Tarwater, vehemently denied the blacklisting rumors and dismissed the Branson angle.

One sure thing is that Hammons’ move has put the commission in a quandary. Do they vote based on Hammons’ word of a new hotel smack-dab across the street from the parcel in question? That would lead many to say the hotel market downtown would become quickly overbuilt. Or do they vote as if nothing has changed, effectively calling a Hammons’ bluff?

A third possibility envisions a merger of Huffman’s and BKD’s plans, with multilevel office space on the north side of the hotel property reserved for BKD personnel and other potential tenants. If the city is able to negotiate this deal, and Huffman sticks with his downsized-room plan, Hammons could still develop his hotel with reasonable success.

Still, it would leave a bad taste in our mouths. I understand if the 88-year-old Hammons wishes to leave one last mark on Springfield, perhaps his grand finale. This isn’t it. This is tarnishing his image. The JQH Arena would have been enough.

SBJ readers say go with the four-star hotel with residential condos. The SBJ online poll that asked, “If you were a Springfield TIF commissioner, which development proposal for downtown’s former arena site would you say makes the most sense, and why?” registered 547 votes completely shattering the past poll record of 364 votes.

Here, 56 percent of respondents chose the “four-star hotel with residential condos,” which is Huffman’s plan.

I agree with the readers in this case, and I really think the city could negotiate a merger of Huffman’s and BKD’s plans to meet both needs.

Springfield needs an upscale property to serve conventioneers, and Huffman is willing to put it on his back. Let him do it, and let healthy, capitalistic competition – by someone who’s gone through the appropriate city channels – improve the quality of Springfield. If city leaders want to take Springfield into another metropolitan echelon, Springfield cannot be a one-horse race. It needs more big-time developer competition, and this is the perfect segue to a hotel property we can showcase.

A banker friend was telling me about some New York investors who were scouting out the area. When the local banker told them where they’d be put up – Holiday Inn Express, the newest downtown property – they asked if there was something nicer, in a nearby town, perhaps. Those investor types will be visiting more frequently as more people move here from the coasts. That investor money won’t follow as freely, however, if we can’t close the deal by taking good care of them while they’re here.

I just hope the commissioners – who next meet on April 9 – stick to their guns and do what’s best for the long-term economic vibrancy of downtown Springfield.

Springfield Business Journal Editor Eric Olson can be reached at eolson@sbj.net.[[In-content Ad]]