Willard readies for major commercial expansion

Ozark has its new Wal-Mart Supercenter. Republic has secured a Lowe’s.
Such commercial talk has been sparse in Willard, another of Springfield’s bedroom communities.
That could be changing soon.
The Willard Board of Aldermen heard from commercial development specialist Randy Becht at its March 14 meeting that the city was in a prime position for a commercial development boom. Becht owns Becht Properties Inc., a real estate and property management company in St. Robert.
Among the indicators Becht pointed out were the city’s traffic numbers, specifically at the intersection of Farm Road 94 and Highway 160, where more than 14,700 vehicles pass each day. The general threshold at which large chains and franchises begin seriously considering a potential location is 15,000 cars a day.
Becht said he thought the city was well on its way to seeing the commercial development it’s been looking for.
“Typically in bedroom communities, like Willard is, they always want to be something else in a lot of ways,” he said.
Becht said he is impressed by Willard’s proactive stance and by its “business-friendly face.”
Willard Mayor Joe Cosby said he was encouraged by Becht’s comments to the board.
“He said we have everything here: a good park system and one of the best schools in the state,” Cosby said. “We’ve also revised our comprehensive plan so that we can prepare for the growth. We just need to be patient. We don’t even need to go after (the chain stores); they’ll come to us.”
The city’s comprehensive plan includes the creation of a planning and development department, a capital improvements plan for financial management of infrastructure growth, specifically plans to continue the widening of Highway 160, already approved by Springfield City Council, through Willard.
The town’s efforts have been helped by the major developments in northwest Springfield, including the new Springfield-Branson Regional Airport project and Airport Plaza at West Bypass and Kearney.
Allen Kunkel, regional development manager for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, said the road improvements in particular will have an impact.
“Growth basically follows infrastructure development,” he said. “Anytime you have transportation improvements to another community it’s going to open up numerous opportunities for business development.”

Already happening
Cosby said some national names have started to trickle in.
“People are becoming more aware of the northwest corner of Greene County, and it’s beginning to grow,” he said. “We’ve been sort of isolated for years, but people and businesses are moving here much more now.”
He said that several chains have expressed interest in the town. Sonic Drive-In opened in the fall of 2003, joining Pizza Hut and Subway as the only national restaurant chains in the town of 3,200 residents.
“Casey’s (General Store) is coming in and Express Lane is coming in. And Cody’s is looking here as well,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of things like that going on and a lot of other possibilities.”
He declined to comment about what other companies have expressed interest.
Kunkel said he hopes the city looks beyond the retail chains for development opportunities.
“My hope is that they’ll also continue to look at some kind of business park development,” he said. “That would lead to a more balanced economy in terms of trying to bring in light manufacturing and office-type jobs as well.”
Cosby said that although Willard is restricted in terms of expansion to the south by the Springfield airport, the town continues to draw much of its customer base from areas to the north and west.
“Willard is the hub of northwest Greene County,” he said. “Bois D’Arc, Ash Grove, Everton, Walnut Grove, Morrisville – the main customers for our business come from those areas.”