Solo Cup redevelopment plan calls for $16M abatement

Last edited 1:19 p.m., Nov. 20, 2012

Warren Davis Properties is seeking $16 million in projected property tax abatement tied to the former Solo Cup plant and two adjacent buildings that comprise nearly 1.3 million square feet in central Springfield.

A bill introducing the redevelopment plan to Springfield City Council received its first reading at last night’s council meeting.

Through Solo Redevelopment Corp., property owner Davis Properties submitted a plan that estimates a total investment of $36.6 million to help land potential tenants in the former Solo Cup space and keep tenants at its adjacent properties.

The plan seeks a declaration of blight on the 80-acre site comprises the 735,000-square-foot former Solo Cup plant at 1100 N. Glenstone Ave., a 408,000-square-foot warehouse occupied by John Deere Reman at 2065 E. Pythian St., and a 230,000-square-foot warehouse occupied by Springfield Redevelopment Corp. at 1926 E. Chestnut Expressway.

The plan, if approved, would grant 100 percent property tax abatement on improvements at the three facilities for 10 years, as well as 50 percent tax abatement on improvements for the following 15 years.

Springfield Economic Development Director Mary Lilly Smith said many blighted conditions could be found at the former plant site, a 48-year-old facility she described as functionally obsolete – one of the characteristics of blight. She said other blighted conditions include a gutted interior, broken windows, signs of vandalism and a parking lot overgrown with weeds.

Under state statutes, property owners who redevelop properties in blighted areas are eligible to receive tax abatement on improvements for up to 25 years.

Councilman Jeff Seifried said the former plant was a textbook case of a blighted property.

“If you ever need to see a good example of a blighted building, you ought to take a tour of this,” Seifried said.

In December 2011, council unanimously approved an issuance of $65 million in industrial revenue bonds for improvements to the plant-area properties and to subdivide the former Solo Cup building to make it more attractive to potential tenants. Patrick Harrington, the listing agent for Warren Davis, said at the time prospective tenants typically need between 75,000 square feet and 250,000 square feet.

The tax abatement, according to Smith, would allow the developer the opportunity to move forward with improvements, including subdividing the Solo property into 16 to 20 units that could be used for office warehouse or manufacturing space, ranging from 15,000 square feet to 420,000 square feet. The improvements, which are expected to take four to six years to complete, according to the redevelopment plan, also include dock additions at the Chestnut Expressway location and the construction of a 6,000-square-foot office building.

Smith said because Davis Properties is seeking tax abatement, it would not be looking to issue industrial revenue bonds on real property tax improvements. She said Davis Properties still has the option to seek bonds on equipment improvements once it has tenants in place. Davis Properties officials could not be reached for comment by deadline.

In March 2011, Solo Cup ceased operations at the facility that had employed 1,200 at its peak, according to Springfield Business Journal archives. In August 2010, two months after Solo announced plans to close its doors, Davis Properties purchased the building.

Last night, no members of the public addressed council on the redevelopment plan. The bill’s second reading and vote is expected at council’s Dec. 17 meeting.