Ozark approves requests for proposal

Ozark Board of Aldermen on Dec. 4 approved city staff’s request to prepare and send requests for proposals to developers interested in redeveloping the 48-acre Finley River Neighborhood Development District. The plan for the district, designed by Springfield firm Hagerman New Urbanism, was approved July 31.

The RFP serves two purposes, according to Darrell Gross of Gross & Associates, the Republic firm acting as financial consultant on the redevelopment project.

In addition to allowing the Ozark Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority to determine the developer best suited for the job, the RFP also meets state legal requirements for a possible tax increment-financing district.

Ozark Senior Planner Steve Childers said a TIF commission has been formed to discuss the tax options for the district, though no recommendations have been made to the board.

The next step in the process: sending the requests. That should happen by the end of this week or beginning of next week, according to Childers. He added that the city also plans to hold an informational meeting to answer questions and give potential developers more information about the project; no date has been set for that meeting.

See SBJ's Dec. 11 issue for more on this story.