South-side retail, office development continues

South Kansas Expressway is a high-volume, western traffic corridor for Springfield, which makes it an excellent location for any type of retail center, according to Bill Beall, owner of Bill Beall Real Estate Company.

Beall, whose office is located at 2905 S. National, is acting as leasing agent for Kansas Station, a new retail center owned by Pennock Development LLC.

The center is under construction west of Kansas Expressway off of Battlefield Road, situated just east of Grizzly Industrial's new warehouse facility.

Phase I of the complex will comprise approximately 68,000 square feet of space.

The size of individual spaces for lease will vary according to the needs of the tenants, Beall said, but the average will be approximately 1,750 square feet.

The brick-faced complex will be reminiscent of an old time brick train station, and that theme will be carried through in the signage for the center, said project architect Geoffrey Butler, partner in Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Inc.

"The theme will be evident throughout the complex and should be very eye-catching," he added.

Beall said that about one-fourth of the space available in phase I has been leased and the tenants will be announced at a later date.

An additional 30,000 square feet of retail space will be available in the future once the first phase is completed, Butler said.

The complex will eventually extend all the way to Erie Street.

The first units should be ready for occupancy in February of 2001, Beall said.

Springfield Builders Inc. is the general contractor on the project. SBI owner Curtis Looney said the project is on schedule and on budget.

Looney added that the landscaping for the center will be one of the better landscaping projects in Springfield.

Farther south and east, at the corner of National Avenue and Weaver Road, Ron Stenger Realtors Inc. is building a new office complex.

The Stenger company will move from its location at 1910 E. Battlefield and expects to occupy the new offices by the end of February, according to Stu Stenger, broker for the firm.

Dubbed National Place Office Park, the complex will be contemporary brick design in keeping with the style of the houses in the subdivision by the same name.

The foundation has been poured for the structure, which will sit on the southwest corner of National Avenue and Weaver Road.

The building will be approximately 3,750 square feet, Stenger said.

Stenger added that when Stenger Realtors developed the subdivisions of National Place and Iron Bridge, the company reserved the southwest corner for commercial use.

"We just decided to use it and let people know there is office space available at the location," Stenger said.

An additional office complex of about 4,500 square feet will be constructed adjacent to the Stenger offices once the first project is completed, Stenger said.

The second building will be for sale or lease, he said.

Other lots for offices will be available on the tract, and the strip that borders the street is zoned for retail business and may be developed as such in the future.

"For right now, it is all office space," Stenger said.

Marshall-Waters-Woody Associates is the architect on the National Place Office Park, and Morelock-Ross Builders is the general contractor.