TIF Commission advised to reissue request for arena site proposals

Mary Lilly Smith, the city’s economic development director, said attorneys with Kansas City-based Gilmore & Bell public law finance firm have suggested that the commission reissue requests for proposals from developers. The reason: Pending proposals from BKD LLP accounting firm and HCW Evergreen Inc. are “significantly different” than what was initially proposed to the commission in February, Smith said.

“The attorneys wanted to make sure we were on safe legal ground,” she said.

BKD proposed a pair of office buildings for the site, one of which would serve as its new corporate headquarters. HCW Evergreen pitched a four-star, multistory hotel with a banquet hall and possible office-space component.

With the commission’s blessing at a meeting today, the city would likely reissue its request for proposals next week, Smith said. Interested developers, including those already in the running, would have 30 days to submit their proposals, she added.

The move also would allow developers who previously submitted proposals to reapply, Smith said.

Officials with Springfield Public Schools and Springfield-Greene County Parks and Recreation formally withdrew their request for a joint administrative complex at the site because construction wouldn’t begin until 2009.

In addition, commissioners voted in March to exclude a plan from John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts to build an office building for BKD with first-floor restaurant and retail space. Hammons, in turn, announced he would build a four-star hotel across the street from the expo center.

Smith said developers interested in submitting a proposal are encouraged to include specific plans for on-site parking and space needed in the adjacent Jordan Valley Car Park.

The commission meets at 1:30 p.m. today at the Busch Municipal Building, 840 Boonville Ave., in the fourth floor conference room.

See SBJ’s April 16 issue for more on the commission meeting and the arena site proposals.