Springfield schools extends Hickory Hills payment deadline

Developer Paul Larino, president of Larino Properties LLC, has missed a $2.5 million payment to Springfield Public Schools for the former Hickory Hills school property, but the school board has agreed to extend the deadline by 120 days.

In December, Larino entered into a $4.45 million purchase agreement with the school district, which called for the first payment of $2.5 million to be paid on or before June 15. Larino now has until Oct. 14 to make that payment, according to a SPS news release.

Under the terms of the extension, Larino paid SPS a nonrefundable $50,000 cash payment, which equates to 6 percent annualized interest on the initial amount Larino was scheduled to pay.

Nixa-based Larino Properties is the developer behind the planned 46-acre Hickory Hills Marketplace on property located at the northeast corner of Chestnut Expressway and Highway 65 - which includes the former Hickory Hills school and an adjoining 15.5 acres contracted from SPS, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

“We believe granting this extension is a prudent financial measure for the school district, which also affords Mr. Larino the time he needs to finalize details of the development,” Tom Prater, school board president, said in the release.

When the sale was finalized in December, the payment schedule called for Larino to make a second payment of $1 million by Dec. 31, 2015, and a final payment of $950,000 by Dec. 31, 2017. SPS Community Relations Manager Teresa Bledsoe said the second and third payment deadlines have not changed.