Partnership settles $2.4M PIC West note

Greg Williams, senior vice president of economic development for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, told Springfield City Council at its June 10 luncheon that the loan is retired in full due in large part to the sale of 33.5 acres at the west facility to Northstar Battery Co. That sale, according to Williams, netted roughly $1.3 million.

Northstar broke ground in May on a 308,000-square-foot plant at 1320 N. Alliance Ave., the Springfield-based company’s second expansion this year; earlier, it completed a 52,000-square-foot, $3 million addition to its facility in the original Partnership Industrial Center.

Williams said development of PIC West – unlike its predecessor, Partnership Industrial Center in northeast Springfield – started slowly when it opened in 2001, but interest and business have picked up in the last year.

“The deal flow and the volume of prospective tenants in the last six months to a year has been very strong, and we’re working a number of projects with tremendous interest in PIC West ground,” Williams said. “In a nutshell, it’s taken longer, but we’re pleased with the progress we’ve made.”

He also noted that work began on PIC West when the original PIC was 50 percent full, meaning that for a time there were two public-private industrial parks being developed simultaneously.

“We’re focused now on PIC West, and we hope that the remaining 200 acres will be built out in the next several years,” Williams said.

Once PIC West nears 50 percent capacity – possibly as early as late summer or early fall – Williams said talks for a third industrial center could begin.

The two existing industrial parks have led to the creation or retention of more than 3,100 jobs and nearly $300 million in capital investment, according to information from the SBDC.

All future proceeds from land sales at PIC West will go toward reimbursing infrastructure investments made by the other members of the partnership, which comprises SBDC, the chamber, the city of Springfield, Greene County and City Utilities.

City Utilities has about $1.7 million invested in infrastructure at the center, according to CU Economic Development Director Dean Thompson; the city has invested $2.2 million at the park, according to Public Information Director Louise Whall.[[In-content Ad]]