Tax abatement requested for flour mill site 

A plan unveiled in 2022 to revive a 1901 flour mill near the intersection of Chestnut Expressway and National Avenue is still in the works. 

Springfield City Council heard the first reading last night of an ordinance to approve a redevelopment plan proposed by Sisters Mill Redevelopment Corp. for a highly recognizable property – a 13-story mill and adjoining silo at 610 N. Prospect Ave. that has been out of operation since the 1970s. 

Council is scheduled to vote on the plan at its May 20 meeting. 

Springfield Business Journal first reported on the business concept in November 2022. Sisters Renee Textor and Sheri Perkins said they aimed to open The Table at the Mill, a casual-dining concept serving breakfast, lunch and dinner in the shadow of the historic mill and silo. Using the historic structures themselves was not part of their immediate plans, they said. The sisters told SBJ they bought the 1.9-acre property for $265,000 from Randy West. 

Amanda Ohlensehlen, director of Economic Vitality for the city, told council the developers are seeking a Chapter 353 tax abatement, which is for urban redevelopment of real property that has been found to be a blighted area by a municipality. 

Blight is defined by Missouri law as an area in which a city’s legislative authority determines that “by reason of age, obsolescence, inadequate or outmoded design or physical deterioration, have become economic and social liabilities, and such conditions are conducive to ill health, transmissions of disease, crime or inability to pay reasonable taxes.” 

For a property to qualify for a Chapter 353 abatement, the city requires that it pass a but-for test, meaning that the development would not be financially feasible without the abatement, Ohlensehlen said. 

Ohlensehlen said the blight report indicated several unsanitary or unsafe conditions. 

“There is environmental contamination that exists on the site,” she said. “There’s trash and illegal dumping on the site, including things like drug paraphernalia, broken glass or discarded items. There’s obvious deterioration of site improvements.” 

She added that there is extensive graffiti and vandalism, as well as the potential for fire damage. 

“The abandoned structures are currently underutilized, and the site is very conducive for trespassers, illegal activity, criminal activity and certainly poses a risk for fire or potential bodily injury to anyone on the site,” she said. 

Ohlensehlen said plans call for a two-story casual restaurant building with a covered patio and a small retail space, as well as green space on the site. The project also would rehabilitate and stabilize the mill structures to facilitate future redevelopment. 

The city also requires that proposed tax abatements be in line with its comprehensive plan, Forward SGF. Ohlensehlen said the area of the proposed development is highly traveled and would benefit from reinvestment and revitalization. 

Ohlensehlen said the request for tax abatement is for a period of up to 25 years. In years 1-10, the request is for abatement of 100% of the assessed valuation of the new improvements and the land. The assessed valuation would be frozen in years 11-25, when the abatement would be 50% of the assessed valuation of land and improvements. 

Ohlensehlen said a tax impact analysis indicated the taxing district would receive an additional $335,000 over the next 25 years if the redevelopment and tax abatement are authorized. 

City staff, the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority and the Planning and Zoning Commission all recommend approval of the tax abatement, Ohlensehlen said. 

According to past SBJ reporting, Springfield-Greene County Library District archives hold that the John F. Meyer & Sons Milling Co. built the flour mill in 1901, before the property was annexed into the city in 1910. 

In September 2022, council approved a zoning change request to highway commercial from single-family residential to allow for retail and restaurant use. 

At the time of SBJ’s original reporting on the plan, The Sisters LLC had hoped to open their restaurant by Thanksgiving 2023. They were working with architect H Design Group LLC on plans for a 4,200-square-foot building on the property with estimated construction costs of $2 million but with total project expenses yet to be determined.