Restore SGF opens doors on first flipped home

Built circa 1902, a 2,112-square-foot, four-bedroom home in the Woodland Heights neighborhood has been given new life by Restore SGF.

The nonprofit’s efforts are aimed at helping families achieve homeownership while enhancing housing stock and boosting property values in Springfield’s historic neighborhoods, according to its website.

On March 27, Executive Director Brendan Griesemer greeted visitors at an open house at 1923 N. Campbell Ave., a tidy white house with a gracious porch fronting Lafayette Park and nearly kitty-corner from where the Reed Academy middle school building is under construction.

Griesemer referred to the project as a gut rehab – a project that is almost there, aside from a handful of punch list items. This is the nonprofit’s first completed home flip project.

The open house was a sneak peek at the property, which is scheduled to be listed today at the price of $249,900. Dustin Ross, Restore SGF construction specialist and broker/owner of Trifecta Realty Group, is the listing agent, Greisemer said.

Griesemer declined to disclose the cost of the flip, but he said Restore SGF partnered with developer Matt Blevins, owner of Matt Blevins Real Estate LLC, who hired contractor Damian Frillman to lead the renovation effort, according to Ross.

The project is the first completed through the organization’s Restore and Rebuild program. Restore SGF’s 2024 annual report states that program transforms neglected properties into safe, welcoming spaces.

Griesemer said the program’s second renovation, located at 1411 W. Central St. in the Grant Beach neighborhood, isn’t far behind.

Restore SGF launched a revolving loan fund to support its Restore and Rebuild program.

The annual report notes, “The initiative focuses on acquiring underutilized housing, renovating it and selling the revitalized homes at market value to future homeowners.”

For both of the properties, down payment assistance of $9,000 has been earmarked for first-time homebuyers, though Griesemer said anyone can buy the homes.

Restore SGF has targeted five historic neighborhoods for its efforts. Woodland Heights has received the lion’s share of the organization’s investment at $260,000, followed by Grant Beach at $137,000, Doling at $72,000, Fassnight at $56,000 and Meador Park at $27,000. Griesemer said the organization is active, by design, in all four council zones in the city.

Restore SGF works to convert rental property to owned property in its five target neighborhoods. In 2024, owner-occupied housing had net additions of 15 units in Woodland Heights, 11 in Grant Beach, eight in Meador Park East, four in Fassnight and three in Doling Park East.

Additionally, the organization’s down-payment assistance program gave 50 down-payment grants totaling $438,000 last year, resulting in $7.2 million in total real estate development. The report notes $14.57 was leveraged for every dollar from Restore SGF.

Board member Joselyn Baldner, president and CEO of Central Bank of the Ozarks, was on hand for the open house. For Baldner, the open house marked an important milestone.

“Being able to have this project completed in the neighborhood I think is really probably a stepping stone for what we’re trying to do, and this is a great way to showcase our efforts,” she said.

Mona Pieron, a neighbor of the renovated residence and an eight-year resident of Woodland Heights, also attended the open house and said she was thrilled.

“I watched this house go down – I watched it deteriorate, and it just made me so sad,” she said. “There are so many beautiful homes in our neighborhood, and most of the folks who want this to happen don’t have the deep pockets to pull it off.”

She said she believes projects like the one highlighted increase the value of her own home, a Victorian she’s working on renovating.

“I think everyone we save just adds to it,” she said.