Panelists discuss present, future of downtown

A panel discussion was held at The Discovery Center yesterday afternoon and drew about 60 representatives of local, state and federal agencies that have invested funding and resources into downtown Springfield and Jordan Valley Park.

Panelists included Nancy Dornan, developer and president of the Springfield Preservation and Land Trust; Brian Fogle, vice president of community development at Great Southern Bank; Matt Miller, developer and co-owner of The Matt Miller Co.; Tim Rosenbury, partner architect with Butler, Rosenbury & Partners; Scott Tillman, developer and owner of Tillman Redevelopment Co.; and Rusty Worley, executive director of Urban Districts Alliance.

Each spoke of how far downtown has come, but they also noted that the city is not yet what it could be.

Tillman said he expects to see more new construction downtown, a deviation from the renovation and historic restoration projects that fueled most of the growth in the last decade.

A testament to that trend is Tillman’s own College Station development, a 42,000-square-foot retail and entertainment district to be located near College Street and Campbell Avenue. The $25 million project also includes a 14-screen movie theater and a parking garage.

Worley touched on plans to extend Jordan Valley Park west through West Meadows, a 100-acre area between Main Avenue and Kansas Expressway. He also noted the upcoming completions of the Heer’s building, Wilhoit Plaza and Jordan Valley Innovation Center.

Rosenbury’s firm relocated to West Meadows last year to get in on the emerging development.

“People right now think we’re idiots – they think we’re crazy,” Rosenbury said. “Today’s idiot is tomorrow’s visionary.”

The discussion was part of Springfield’s sixth annual Jordan Valley Resource Day, where participants also toured The Discovery Center’s green-building expansion, took a bus tour of center city and held a brainstorming session at the new Community Foundation of the Ozarks building.