Renovations to expand downtown opportunities

The attraction of a downtown to small-business owners is the area's uniqueness, according to Brian Fogle, interim director of the Urban District Alliance. The attraction of a downtown to customers is a combination of original restaurants, night spots, destination retail stores and the unique area they call home.

Fogle noted that successful downtown revitalization efforts nationwide have been driven by the commercial sector, not by public investment; and by small independent businesses, not large national chains.

Several new businesses have joined the downtown lineup, and ongoing renovation projects are providing space for more office, retail, restaurant, lodging, meeting and residential uses, while public projects related to Jordan Valley Park are raising the area's profile.

A number of trendy restaurants have boosted the downtown economy in recent years, increasing traffic both day and night.

Along with such prominent additions as Springfield Brewing Company, Bijan's Sea & Grille and Gallery Bistro, downtown's newest dining places include Mille's Turn of the Century Cafe on Jefferson.

The restaurant, owned by David and Karen Bauer, opened in August 1999. Offering lunch and dinner Monday through Friday and dinner only on Saturdays, the Bauers said the venture has been successful and they plan to stay for the long term.

Renovation for another restaurant is under way at 303 Park Central West, originally the site of Cafe 303 and more recently of The Duchess at 303. The building is owned by Gary and Amy Waldrop. Steve Sexton and his son Justin have leased the lower floor and will open a new cafe, known as Coco's, at the first of May.

Coco's will feature a soup and salad bar, along with sandwiches and desserts. The cafe will be open 11 a.m.- 3 p.m. weekdays, and 11 p.m.- 2 a.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, serving after hours breakfast dishes.

Next to Coco's, at 301 Park Central West, Springfield Pottery is working on its new location in the building formerly occupied by Moon City Cafe. Business owners Jennifer Smith and Nathan Falter are moving to the new location from a smaller space on Park Central East.

The move will give them about 600 more square feet in which to teach beginning and advanced classes, and to operate a small studio gallery from which to sell their work. The target date to complete the move is April 1, according to Falter.

The 301 building is owned by Bob McCroskey. The upper floor of the building, formerly occupied by Pentecost Architects, has been converted to a loft apartment and is also leased.

Nearby, at 324 Park Central West the old Busy Bee building McCroskey, building owner Dennis Radford-Kapp and Reg Cordry, of Kansas City, are working on plans for the complete restoration of the structure.

Listed in the National Historic Registry, the site will be converted to loft apartments on the upper floors, and the street level will be leased as office space and possibly a restaurant, McCroskey said.

"The building is solid as a rock, but it has to be completely redone inside and out," he added.

Also on the National Historic Registry is the old State Hotel located at the corner of Jefferson and Walnut. Co-owner Tim Rosenbury said the building has undergone structural repairs and will be stabilized in the next month or two before renovation begins.

Future plans for the site are to convert the upper levels to apartments and develop the ground-level space into offices and retail businesses, Rosenbury said.

First on the list of priorities for Rosenbury and his partners, Sam Freeman and Phil Burgess, is to secure the financing on the Seville Hotel, a block west of the State Hotel on Walnut. The two hotel buildings were purchased as a package deal, Rosenbury said.

Demolition crews have removed asbestos from the Seville, and reconstruction will begin as soon as possible, with 32 hotel suites planned for the upper floors. The partners have also purchased the former Ozark Camera building, which will be converted into a ballroom for meetings and special events, according to Rosenbury.

"I'm in this for the long term," Rosenbury said. "My goal is to contribute to the vitality of the downtown area."

The Heer's building is also scheduled for redevelopment. Though the building hasn't sold yet, Warren Davis Properties is moving ahead with plans to renovate the structure, according to Ron Shepherd, property manager for the firm.

"There is a need for more office space downtown," said Shepherd, who reports that Warren Davis Properties' other downtown office facilities are near full occupancy.

The Woodruff Building is 96 percent occupied, the McDaniel Building is 92 percent occupied and the Park Central Office Building is 86 percent occupied. Shepherd expects to fill the remaining space in the Park Central complex within the next few months.

Plans for the Heer's building include space for retail businesses on the ground level and an upscale, rooftop restaurant.

On Park Central East, the building vacated by Springfield Pottery is undergoing renovation and conversion into loft apartments, according to Springfield Pottery's Falter.

Across the street, plans are in full swing at the Gillioz Theater. The adjacent building, most recently occupied by the Southwest Missouri Office on Aging, was purchased a year and a half ago, according to Dorothy Lemmon, project director for the Gillioz.

The adjacent structure will provide ancillary space for a gift shop and restrooms at the ground level, and a banquet room upstairs. The third floor will be converted to offices and leased, Lemmon said.

When completed, the multipurpose facility will provide a place for film festivals, music shows, regional road shows and children's shows, Lemmon said.

"What defines a community and makes it different is the downtown," Fogle said.

Downtown promoters have addressed the issues of cleanliness and safety in the area and are working on ways to enhance the center city and provide better signage for parking.

"We've recognized the fact that we don't look as good as we need to look down here," Fogle said.

One civic project under way to make the area more visually attractive is construction of the streetscape on Boonville as part of the Jordan Valley Park project, Fogle said.