Given that I became Springfield city manager in September 2008, I didn’t have very many opportunities to interact with John Q. Hammons.
But when the vacant lot next to the city Expo Center remained undeveloped past its deadline, I had the unenviable responsibility to notify Mr. Hammons that he had missed the development deadline and, per the agreement, the city had the opportunity to take the property back for $1.
So what do you do? Do you give a nationally known developer another extension and a third chance to develop a high-profile property? Or do you pursue the process to take back the property per the agreement?
My only other close interaction with him had been when I worked at Missouri State University and we were in the midst of designing JQH Arena. He was impressed with our architects, and let them do their job. He knew the type of arena he wanted, so when the architects told him it would take an additional $7 million to get the arena he desired, he agreed to increase his gift to the university. He was a man who knew what he wanted. Knowing that fact made this negotiation just that more difficult.
I met with Mr. Hammons and his staff multiple times during the Expo Center negotiations. At that time, Mr. Hammons was living in the penthouse suite of University Plaza Hotel along St. Louis Street, so we met in a hotel conference room. And each time we met, even though he was in a wheelchair, Mr. Hammons was dressed in a suit with a tie and pocket square, and he was looking sharp. We always joked about the fact that, even at more than 90 years old, he had much more hair than me.
Mr. Hammons had a mind for numbers. Each time we met, he recited square footages or some other figure off the top of his head – no notes required. It was obvious he had a mind for business, through and through. You could almost hear the gears turning as we talked.
I pitched a few options for him to consider, but in the end told him that I thought City Council would want to take ownership of the land per the agreement. Deep down, I think he understood, but he never wanted to give up. He would call me two or three times a day during that negotiation period, each time reiterating his position and ensuring me that he would build a first-class hotel on the vacant lot.
I didn’t once mention the projects he had in other cities that were grinding to a halt in the midst of the recession – I had too much respect for him to bring that up. But he knew it, and he always cursed the financial markets that were not releasing funds for hotel projects.
He complained that, in the hierarchy, hotel projects were at the bottom of the funding chain in a tight financial market. It made him mad. And it took the wind out of his sails. But he never stopped fighting. He never stopped negotiating. He never gave up, until City Council voted to take the land back.
I could tell from this experience that Mr. Hammons was a man who didn’t like to lose, and he didn’t lose very often. I respected him for the way he handled himself throughout this negotiation, one that obviously was not easy for him.
Somehow, I suspect he is still negotiating with St. Peter, trying to bargain for a few more days on Earth, just to wrap up a couple deals.
Here’s to a man that literally changed the landscape of Springfield. Mr. Hammons, we thank you.
Springfield City Manager Greg Burris can be reached at gburris@springfieldmo.gov.
