Ozark?s 65 Marketplace stirring development

New commercial development 65 Marketplace is now more than a sign along U.S. Highway 65. The commercial land, comprising 72 acres at the northwest corner of Ozark's routes CC and J intersection, is already more than half sold, and several construction projects are under way.

What started a year and a half ago as a dream of local developer Steve Stinnett, of S.L. Stinnett Co. Inc., is now becoming a reality.

"We've done really well," Stinnett said. "Sales are better than what we projected. When the whole thing is developed over the next five years, it will have an intrinsic value of over $50 million."

Acreage sold

Stinnett and TriStar Business Com-munities of St. Louis purchased the plat in June of last year and have sold 38 acres to date.

Most recent is Missouri Furniture's purchase of 4.3 acres on the plat's northwest corner.

According to Stinnett, other signed businesses thus far include Liberty Bank, which is under construction, Domino's Pizza, Cingular Wireless, Comet Clean-ers & Laundry, and Blimpie Subs & Salads.

Stinnett said an 8,000-square-foot building with available space is already complete and houses Barnett Family Dental.

Braum's will start building after the first of the year, he said, and a seafood restaurant will come next year, too. Other plans include a gas station/ convenience store and a 20,000-square-foot shopping center.

Price Cutter prototype

What has Stinnett most excited, however, is the new Price Cutter, which he called the development's anchor. Stinnett said it will be a new type of store for Price Cutter called a Fresh Market. "It's going to be more upscale," he said of the Price Cutter Fresh Market prototype. Construction recently began on the 52,000-square-foot store.

But the 65 Marketplace sign, which Stinnett said was made by Springfield Sign & Graphics Co., is still the site's signature piece.

"We're really proud of (the sign)," he said. "We think it really makes a statement for the area ... and where we want to take it."

Ozark City Administrator Collin Quig-ley thinks 65 Marketplace will take the city's commercial and residential growth to new heights.

"It's going to be a large retail magnet and we're looking forward to the full development of that," he said. "Once you have a large retail area, the rooftops will want to be located near those amenities. ... The potential for additional residential growth is very high."

Residential pull

The closest subdivision to the site is Waterford, which is in its second phase of construction, Quigley said. Stinnett added that other nearby communities that may utilize the retail center include Fremont Hills and Millwood.

"I would venture to say that a lot of people that live in Millwood will be shopping down here," Stinnett said. "I think that's where Price Cutter is coming from I think they see the surrounding area, and I think that's the reason they're coming in with the new prototype."

According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, a total of approximately 30,000 northbound and southbound vehicles traveled through the Highway 65 and routes CC and J intersection last year. Of that number, 7,916 cars exited east toward Ozark along Route J, which passes by 65 Market-place.

The intersection also is the exit for Lambert's Cafe and Mountain Ducks' baseball games, which both draw large amounts of cars at times. To the west of Highway 65 is a smaller retail development that Quigley thinks will also benefit from the growth of 65 Market-place.

Hotels

It seems the only thing his development lacks is a hotel, Stinnett said. "It will eventually happen, but after Sept. 11 the lodging and tourist industries have taken a real big hit."

He said a site was initially sold to a hotel chain, but it has since sold to a group of investors.

The second owners, whom Stinnett declined to name, are trying to attract a restaurant.

"Hotels right now are pretty difficult to finance because of the downturn in the economy," he added. "Eventually it will be there, it just takes time."

Stinnett said he is negotiating with a national franchise motel. "I know that talking with some of the lodging people, they have taken a hit since Sept. 11, but I think we're going to come through it fairly well because there are a lot of people within a 500-600-mile radius that will still drive to Branson and the lakes region," he said.

"A lot of people aren't flying like they once were, but people are going to get in their cars and their RVs and travel to the Ozarks. We hope that will continue," he added.

Experience counts

Stinnett is no stranger to local development. His company, which he founded in 1988, has co-developed Primrose Mar-ketplace, Battlefield Village, Turnberry Estates and Pearson Ridge Estates.

So for Stinnett, the decision to purchase a plat in this area was an easy one. This joint venture with TriStar is a first for the two companies, but Stinnett said the St. Louis-based company had been looking to develop in southwest Mis-souri for some time.

"The attraction obviously was the location the visibility from Highway 65, but more than that it was just the natural growth pattern between Springfield and Ozark," Stinnett said. "It was just a matter of positioning ourselves in the right location."