Work underway on Kum & Go near shuttered Kmart

A sizable hole in the ground in front of a shuttered Kmart shows the construction progress for a new Kum & Go store in north Springfield.

Crews are currently digging underground as site work proceeds at 1810 E. Kearney St.

Kum & Go spokeswoman Kristie Bell said Burleson, Texas-based S&W Construction is general contractor on the project, with Kansas City’s BRR Architecture Inc. on as designer. The site is at the southeast corner of the Kearney Street and Glenstone Avenue intersection.

Bell said the nearly 6,000-square-foot Marketplace store — with increased food options compared with smaller locations, fuel dispensers, seating and free Wi-Fi — would replace a nearby store at 1605 E. Kearney St., located west of Glenstone Avenue.

She noted, too, Kum & Go worked with Mother Road fans to keep a portion of the original Route 66 that runs through the property between the old Kmart store and the new convenience store.

“We worked with the local Route 66 enthusiasts and experts, and are able to save a portion of the original concrete,” Bell said via email. “We’ll also install Route 66-themed signage to commemorate the location.”

Adjacent to the new Kum & Go site, Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based Sears Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: SHLD) closed the 1930 E. Kearney St. Kmart in 2016, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.