PIC West signs deal for spec building

The Partnership Industrial Center West Administrative Council announced May 27 that it had entered a contract with Springfield Industrial Properties LLC, owned by Columbia attorney Bruce Beckett, to develop a 75,000-square-foot speculative industrial building. Ground was broken mid-March on the seven-acre parcel at 2000 N. Alliance Ave.

“In effect, (the land) is consigned to them,” said Karl Plumpe, City Utilities’ associate general manager for economic development.

Springfield Industrial Properties has two years to secure tenants before payments to the PIC West council are due. However, payments kick in as soon as the building is sold or leased.

“They’re taking the risk because they don’t have somebody there.” Plumpe said. “What do we get in exchange? We get a speculative building which a lot of towns or communities have. It’s a foot in the door kind of thing.”

Beckett could not be reached for comment by press time.

The 250-foot-by-300-foot expandable building will have eight-inch insulated precise walls, 50-foot columnar space, a ceiling height of 26 feet and full utilities. The construction cost is $1.5 million, according to a Springfield building permit.

A spec building, Plumpe said, can help bring tenants to the area. Partnership Industrial Center started in a similar way in 1993.

“We didn’t have anything out there. The only thing that was out there was the French’s plant, which is not part of the park,” Plumpe said. “We were sitting there with 360 vacant acres, and I was taking guys out there and saying, ‘Imagine your building here.’”

Most prospective tenants ask if there are available shell buildings, he said.

Doug Jackson, a principal at Butler, Rosenbury & Partners, the firm designing the building, said that a spec building is virtually unfinished. “They get roughly 70 percent of the total project done, and when they find the tenant, they will finish out the warehouse, slabs and office area specific for their needs,” he said.

Coil Construction of Sedalia Inc. is the general contractor. Brian Smith, vice president at Coil, said that the project is on schedule, and he anticipates it being ready for tenants by mid-July.

Smith said that local subcontractors working on the project include Ramsey Excavating Co. for site preparation, Advanced Concrete Technology for concrete work, Rich Kramer Construction for the steel structure, and Prestressed Casting Co. for a concrete wall system.

The PIC West Administrative Council comprises businesses from PIC West, representatives of the city of Springfield, City Utilities, the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, Springfield Business Development Corporation and the airport board.

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