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Opinion: Milestone projects raising expectations

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Three historic downtown ribbon-cuttings this past month celebrated $48 million of investment. That’s a big deal.

Each project ushered in a new chapter for the buildings and challenged Springfield to raise its expectations for hospitality, to seek dynamic places to work and to create a vibrant neighborhood for the 21st century.

Originally built in 1906 as a Masonic lodge, Vandivort was converted to office space in the 1980s. Brothers John and Billy McQueary acquired it in 2013 and renovated the building into Springfield’s first boutique hotel.

The $13 million project now houses 50 guest rooms, The Order restaurant, a ballroom and meeting spaces. Through the blending of historical character, modern aesthetics and local art, they created a cosmopolitan point-of-pride for the entire city.

The quality of accommodations in downtown is at its highest level in 50 years. University Plaza and Holiday Inn Express are very connected to the community through the leadership of General Manager Robert Henley. The Walnut Street Inn bed and breakfast has bounced back from the recession, and its owner, Gary Blankenship, serves as president for the Historic Walnut Street Association.

Despite the addition of the Hotel Vandivort and the solid foundation of the existing lodging, the Springfield Expo Center continues to be at a significant disadvantage compared to the competition statewide and in the Midwest. The Expo is an exhibition hall, not a convention center with ballroom and meeting spaces, and it is not connected to a hotel, parking and other core amenities.

Consultant Robert Hunden was commissioned in 2011 by the city, the Springfield CVB and John Q. Hammons Hotels and Resorts to make recommendations for the Expo lot and the convention center complex. It outlined a vision for a new hotel on the vacant lot, major facility changes to make the Expo Center more viable for today’s meeting planners and the redevelopment of the St. Louis Street corridor to add retail, parking and connectivity.

Springfield cannot afford to lose more ground in the tourism industry to more aggressive cities, such as Branson, St. Charles, Lake of the Ozarks and Overland Park, Kan. Now is the time to build on the success of Hotel Vandivort by updating and pursuing Hunden’s recommendations.

The iconic Heer’s building sat vacant on the west side of Park Central Square for the past two decades. Dalmark Group purchased the former department store in 2013 and quickly embarked on a $15.8 million plan for 80 lofts with such amenities as outdoor patios, a movie room and a dog wash station. Residents began moving in this month.

However, the show-stopping move was the signing of an office tenant for the entire 18,000-square-foot first floor. IntrinsiQ, an information technology firm part of Fortune 16 company AmerisourceBergen, will consolidate four regional offices, including one in south Springfield. The company plans to occupy the space by November with 70 employees and grow that number significantly by spring.

The signing of IntrinsiQ represents another major dividend of the IDEA Commons vision established by Missouri State University a decade ago. Jordan Valley Innovation Center is fully occupied and The eFactory is quickly nearing capacity.

Downtown must build on the momentum of the IntrinsiQ lease and the IDEA Commons urban research park to position itself as the most interesting and fun place to work in Springfield.

In less than three years, Vecino Group transformed four unsightly office buildings on the eastern gateway of downtown into a diverse residential neighborhood of 226 units for 400 residents. Its efforts recently culminated with the openings of Sky Eleven, formerly the Woodruff building, and the Sterling.

Vecino designed a variety of amenities in the properties. Sky Eleven features an outdoor pool, lounge and game room. The U includes a social space for young professionals to have “shark tank” presentations by local business leaders. Sterling is Springfield’s first microunit housing development that balances minimal private spaces – averaging 400 square feet – with built-in sharable services, such as tools, vacuums, books and even an electric car. The Frisco is a universally designed affordable housing community with zero-step entries, open floor plans and variable height countertops.

The result is a Park Central East bustling with activity of college students from many countries and young professionals. It complements the concert scene at the Gillioz Theatre and the sidewalk cafes.

Density has attained a new level with the recent loft additions. Downtown living’s long term success will be a major factor in Springfield’s talent attraction and reduction of the loss of young people.

These three developments should inspire entrepreneurs to build on that remarkable progress to identify new opportunities for hospitality, office development and urban living. There is work yet to be done.

Rusty Worley, executive director of Urban Districts Alliance, can be reached at rusty@itsalldowntown.com.

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