Partnership in the works for four-phase C-Street project

If a deal now in the works goes through, Titus Williams will soon have a partner with a notable portfolio of development projects for a four-phase development along Commercial Street.

Williams told Springfield Business Journal March 18 that Tim O’Reilly, managing partner and CEO of O’Reilly Hospitality Management LLC, is anticipated to sign on to the Commercial Street redevelopment plan, which centers on 7.5 acres owned by Williams. Williams is president of development group Prosperiti Partners LLC.

In April 2024, Springfield City Council gave its approval to a set of four linked projects that stemmed from Williams’ purchase of the historic Missouri Hotel at 420 E. Commercial St. in 2017.

“Tim O’Reilly and I are in the process of partnering on that – on all the projects on Commercial Street,” Williams said. “We’re just now getting to the final stage of making that happen.”

Springfield Business Journal reached out to O’Reilly for confirmation of the partnership plans, and he replied with a written statement.

“We are excited to partner with Titus Williams in order to make our Commercial Street development vision a reality,” O’Reilly wrote. “These developments will be transformational for Commercial Street as a destination and a live/work/play environment.”

The terms of the partnership agreement were not disclosed, though Williams said O’Reilly would be the majority owner.

Williams said he approached O’Reilly years ago to see if he had any interest in a C-Street collaboration.

“His expertise in that area seemed like a natural fit just because of everything that’s happening with Commercial Street and all the great things that are going on up there,” Williams said.

The Missouri Hotel was built in 1927 as stylish lodgings for travelers on the Frisco rail line and spent the last three decades of its life as a shelter for the homeless operated by The Kitchen Inc. Williams’ vision would restore the building to an upscale hotel.

A partnership with O’Reilly may have seemed like a no-brainer for a set of projects that includes reviving a historic property into a boutique hotel. O’Reilly was the force behind the eight-story, 52,000-square-foot Moxy Hotel that was built in 1930 as a medical building but reopened in June 2024 at 430 South Ave. as part of the Marriott International Inc. (Nasdaq: MAR) portfolio of properties.

Williams said the two are looking at structuring their collaboration as a partnership.

“Things could change. We’re not completely done yet,” Williams said.

Williams said O’Reilly understands historic redevelopment – how a project can be approved by the city’s Landmarks Board then dinged by the Planning & Zoning Commission, necessitating a return to the Landmarks Board for a revision, all before making its way before City Council. Along the way, the views of nearby property owners and other stakeholders must be taken into consideration.

“It’s a cycle of trying to make multiple people happy in scenarios that are outside of our control,” Williams said.

“I’m lucky to have a partner in Tim who won’t be disgruntled or naive to think that we are not going to have to change a plan just because it’s a sacred cow to us,” Williams said. “Our projects have long-lasting effects to the community, so it’s important for community involvement to take place for these projects.”

C-Street community
Williams said he has worked to get to know the Commercial Street community over the years since his Missouri Hotel purchase.

“In the beginning we had people that didn’t really know me, and they questioned – rightfully so – what my motivations were,” he said. “Was I going to tear them down? What potential things were going to happen?”

As people have gotten to know him better, they understand that tearing down buildings is not his intention.

“That’s not to say it won’t be required because of the condition of a building or the need for the benefit of the development as a whole,” Williams said. “I’m looking at it from a public benefit with the aspect that it has to make financial sense. Balancing those two things is important.”

Williams said he believes in Commercial Street, and he knows O’Reilly does, too.

“Tim and I have had long conversations about this,” he said. “Commercial Street can be the crown jewel of Springfield. It has the ability to lift up neighborhoods that have been blighted for years.”

Williams said the fact that the deal has not been signed makes him take a cautious approach when discussing it.

“Because of that, I’ve been a little tight-lipped about it, just because I want to be respectful of him and make sure that he’s on board,” Williams said.

But Williams said he and O’Reilly have had several meetings between themselves and with others, and he added that O’Reilly’s enthusiasm for the C-Street development is evident.

He added that O’Reilly is a person of great integrity.

“The more I meet with Tim, the more I respect him,” he said. “If the partnership goes like we’ve talked about, I’ll feel very blessed and grateful to have him as a partner.”

Williams said the most recent set of conversations about a partnership began a little over two years ago, which would put them about the time that City Council was mulling Williams’ development proposal.

In the interim, an October 2025 decision by a Cole County judge overturned the state’s historic tax credit expansion, bringing a delay to the expansion plans. Williams told SBJ previously that the credits are essential to the success of the project.

Mary Collette, president of the Commercial Club of Springfield and a dedicated C-Street booster, said she had heard from Williams about the possible partnership with O’Reilly.

“Tim has been seen up and about Historic C-Street, as a man of good taste should,” she said with a laugh. 

Asked her thoughts about a partnership between the two developers, Collette replied, “That would be a wonderful development.”

Collette said O’Reilly could bring a needed element to the four-part development.

“He has a strong record of successful projects, and not without innovation,” she said. “We all have our strengths, and if Tim and Titus can get together and each bring something different to the table, that would definitely benefit C-Street.”

Collette said with O’Reilly on board, historic properties will benefit.

“I just have high hopes for the historic Missouri Hotel and the Ollis Building at a bare minimum,” she said, the latter referring to property at 500 E. Commercial St. that is part of the development plan. “Titus certainly has other properties that are worth saving. Perhaps if Tim comes on board, he will consider saving them as opposed to demolishing them.”

The project
Springfield City Council in April 2024 approved the four-phase C-Street development. According to past SBJ reporting, Williams’ plans for the area extending south from East Commercial to Pacific Street include mixed-use and townhome construction in addition to the renovation of the Missouri Hotel.

When council passed the first phase of the four-phase plan, the Pacific South Project, the initiative called for construction of 72 townhomes to begin immediately one block south of C-Street, with completion anticipated by the end of 2026. However, construction has not yet started on the phase.

Council approved a 25-year tax abatement for the Pacific South Project to include 10 years of full abatement of real property taxes on the assessed valuation of improvements and increased assessed valuation of the land, followed by 15 years of 50% abatement. This portion of the development alone is projected to collect $1.2 million in additional property tax revenue over the 25-year period, according to past SBJ reporting.

The second phase, called the 540 E. Commercial Project, was for a mixed-use residential building with ground-floor retail, restaurant and office spaces.

Renovation of the Missouri Hotel, the third phase, was scheduled to begin in fall 2024.

The fourth phase, the Pacific North Project, is envisioned as a 200-dwelling multifamily residential complex with ground-floor office and retail space.

Williams told SBJ this month that all projects must move forward, according to the pro forma put together to fund the quartet of developments.

“Without them, Pacific South doesn’t generate enough income to pay for building, even with a tax abatement,” he said.