Partners endorse west site for industrial park

Westward, ho! After months of wrangling over where Springfield would build its second partnership industrial park, all four partners in the project the city, City Utilities, the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and the Springfield Business and Development Corporation have agreed on a site near the Springfield-Branson Regional Airport. The second park is to be called Partnership Industrial Center West.

Greg Williams, vice president of economic development for the chamber, said environmental surveying of the site will begin now, as will requests for proposals for the site design work. Springfield Business and Development Corporation (SBDC) is now working with 10 member-banks who have an interest in lending the money for acquiring the land. Williams said financing should be determined in two months.

The two owners of property in the area are the Jack Rainey family and the city of Springfield. Williams said the SBDC, which will own the land for the park, has a purchase agreement option with Rainey and is still working out the details on how the city's land will be conveyed to the SBDC. The site for the second park will comprise about 260 buildable acres.

"We have a commitment in principle from the city, but we don't know at this point how the title will be conveyed to the SBDC," Williams said.

The SBDC retains purchase agreements with owners of property adjacent to the existing east-side industrial center. Though that site was SBDC's initial recommendation for a second park, City Council stopped short of approving it. Among council's concerns for the east site were that it was not inside the Urban Service Area, an area to which urban development in Greene County is limited. Both council and the Greene County Commission would have to approve by a two-thirds majority an extension of the Urban Service Area boundary.

The east site is still preferred for an industrial park; Williams said he is exploring ways for the four partners to jointly purchase the land, holding it until a third partnership park is needed.

"We're looking to find a mechanism for all four partners to step up and have some participation in acquiring that ground and hold it until at least 60 percent of the Partnership Industrial Center West is committed or sold," Williams said.

He added that there is no way to predict how quickly the second park may fill up, and it will be February or March of 2001 before the site is ready for tenants. The SBDC and chamber would then begin marketing the west site in the spring of 2001, Williams said.

Mary Lilly Smith, economic development coordinator for the city, said the city staff will bring a resolution to City Council, perhaps at its April 17 meeting, asking for council to endorse participation in acquiring land for the third park.

"We can't allocate money with a resolution, so this would strictly be an initial resolution to determine support, and then we would talk about money at a later time," Smith said.

The resolution would encourage the partnership to acquire the land, annex it and give it appropriate zoning, Smith said.

Mayor Lee Gannaway said he is still opposed to extending the Urban Service Area, and he is also concerned whether the city has the money to invest in a third park. He added that if the city were to participate in acquiring land for a third park, it would happen "not on my vote."

"This won't happen with this council," Gannaway said.

Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Gary Gibson said he was open to discussions about the east site, and considered it a good candidate for a third park.

"We've got to look at our city's future and know that we have to continue attracting quality manufacturing jobs to the area. I think it would be very proactive of us to acquire this now," Gibson said.

The current Partnership Industrial Center is now about 80 percent full, Williams said.