Two hotels consider expansion, construction

Developers currently are building five hotels in Springfield – with two more potentially on the way.

The owners of Hotel Vandivort LLC are considering adding rooms, co-owner John McQueary confirmed in an email Dec. 21.

“It is true that we have been researching a possible expansion and are in the later stages of due diligence,” he said, declining to release further information at this time.

Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau President and CEO Tracy Kimberlin said he understood the expansion may be to the tune of 50 rooms.

Additionally, a new potentially 120-room hotel franchise may build on the south side of Springfield at 1220 E. Lark St. A portion of the 3.2 acres owned by State Bank of Southwest Missouri Inc. is being sold to an undisclosed purchaser, the bank’s senior vice president Tom Fowler said. He declined to disclose a timeline for the sale to close.

“There is a lot of due diligence going on right now,” he said. “We have a contract on it with a company supposedly turning it into a hotel.”

Fowler said the bank plans to eventually construct a branch at the remainder of the site. The property is currently under evaluation by Springfield City Council for rezoning to a planned development district No. 360, which, according to council documents, allows for temporary lodging uses, including hotels.

Geoffrey Butler of Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Inc., who represented State Bank at the Dec. 11 city council meeting, told Springfield Business Journal this morning the undisclosed developer currently is applying for a franchise – identifying Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Hotels & Resorts and InterContinental Hotels & Resorts as potential flags.

“He hasn’t got that approved yet,” Butler said. “There are several brands that he’s considering and, at this point, I don’t know where he’s at on that application process. They’ve got pretty rigid guidelines for that. They have to do market studies and make sure they aren’t creating conflict with other franchises in the area.”

According to CVB data from the organization’s public relations manager Susan Wade, the average occupancy rate January through November 2017 in the city was 67.5 percent – up from 62.4 percent for the same period in 2016. The lodging industry also improved its average daily rate to $83.92 through November 2017, up from $81.09 the same time in 2016.

In the Queen City, according to CVB, there are about 500 rooms under construction including Holiday Inn Express, the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott and SpringHill Suites at various stages of development on the north side. While Vib by Best Western will serve East Sunshine Street, Moxy will repurpose a downtown building into a boutique property and a new Holiday Inn Express is opening near I-44 and Glenstone.