Downtown Springfield’s iconic Vandivort Center is now under its fourth owner in the last six years with the recent sale of the 44,000-square-foot building.
Center city property owner Scott Tillman is the latest landlord, according to a Vandivort tenant.
First Home Savings Bank sold the Vandivort building, 305 E. Walnut St., to a business entity known as Vandivort Center LLC on Jan. 31, according to Greene County records.
The two real estate agents who co-listed the property – Skip Liebman of CJR Commercial and Glynn Stephens of The Stephens Co. LLC – said both parties declined to disclose terms of the deal.
The property was listed for $1.5 million, and it appraised earlier this year at $2.04 million, according to Greene County assessor records.
Stephens said though the building was only listed through him for two months, he received several qualified purchase offers. Liebman said it was among the most active downtown properties he’s had a hand in selling.
The building’s tenants include Springfield Contemporary Theater, Grupo Latinamericano, Matrix Accounting & Tax and Cara Dee Photography.
According to the listing, there is more than 10,000 square feet of available lease space.
“I think that building is going to do great going forward and will be a really great asset for downtown,” Stephens said. “I think the buyer will work to have it reach its potential.”
Calls to the Vandivort property manager were not returned by press time.
The registered agent of Vandivort Center LLC is Aaron Lyons of Hamburg & Lyons LLC. Lyons did not return calls requesting information about the company.
The five-story building was constructed in 1906 and remodeled in 1987, according to the listing, and lease rates vary by floor and location.
Springfield Contemporary Theatre Executive Director Lou Schaeffer said new landlord Tillman already has made several improvements.
“It’s like night and day having a real owner of the building and not a bank,” Schaeffer said.
He said since the first of February, Tillman has put in a new heating and air conditioning system and performed minor renovations and upkeep to make the interior of the building more attractive.
“The cleanliness of the building is remarkable,” Schaeffer said. “It really hadn’t been properly cleaned during the ownership of the bank.”
Between 2006 and 2010, the property was owned by First National Bank President Aaron Buerge. First Home Savings Bank foreclosed on the property in July 2010, and seven months later, Buerge filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Buerge purchased the property from Jim Shirato in July 2006.
Calls to First Home Savings Bank were not returned by press time.
Tillman, who did not return a call for comment on this story, is perhaps most widely known as owner of the $12 million, 135,000-square-foot College Station development. The retail, office and restaurant portion of College Station sat vacant for three years before the Hamels Foundation signed a lease agreement in October. Its anchor tenant, Oregon-based Hollywood Theaters, opened College Station Stadium 14 in October 2008.
The development had traction on another tenant, the Nine of Clubs comedy club and restaurant, but those plans were foiled when lessee Travis Dibben was charged in a drug bust.
Tillman has owned downtown real estate for years, including the Woolworth’s building, 134 Park Central Square; 310–318 S. Campbell Ave. under Turner Store Redevelopment LLC; and 401 W. Walnut St., where Tillman was shot in the left leg during a January 2005 assault over debts he owed.[[In-content Ad]]
April 7 was the official opening day for Mexican-Italian fusion restaurant Show Me Chuy after a soft launch that started March 31; marketing agency AdZen debuted; and the Almighty Sando Shop opened a brick-and-mortar space.
