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Land Resources / News / Missouri
New developer plans to build retail center at Hickory Hills site
Source: News-Leader.com, by Didi Tang
A Nixa developer plans to purchase the former Hickory Hills School campus and raze the old school building as part of a larger retail development at U.S. 65 and Chestnut Expressway.
"This is one of the better corners left in the city to be developed," said Paul Larino of Larino Properties LLC, who declined to reveal any potential tenants.
His $4.45 million bid for the 15.5-acre school land came after a Little Rock, Ark.-based development company pulled out last year.
RLB Properties LLC had been under the contract with the Springfield Public Schools since 2006 for the parcel but failed to close on the purchase because of the economic downturn.
"The timing was bad with the recession," said Gerry Lee, president of the Springfield Board of Education.
But the board feels confident the sale would go through this time, Lee said.
"This is a good developer," Lee said of Larino. "We feel confident everything will fall in place."
Larino has 120 days from March 1 to finalize the sale, and he said Monday he intended to complete his due diligence within that time frame.
Compared to RLB's $5.135 million bid, Larino has a lower offer.
"I think the board is comfortable with the price," Lee said. "It's a balancing act ... Are we selling it now or do we wait until the economy would come back?"
If developed, the land could generate more sales and property taxes to local public entities, Lee noted.
The board has yet to decide how to best use the proceeds from the land sale, Lee said.
"That money will go into our budget," he said. "It's a one-time money that cannot be used for recurring expenses."
He said the board has yet to know if the money could or should be used to pay down the bonds for the new school.
The former school land became available for sale when the school board decided in 2006 to build a new Hickory Hills K-8 School near East Division Street and Farm Road 193.
The former campus at Chestnut Expressway and U.S. 65 was deemed too congested with traffic, posing a safety threat to students.
Traffic remains one of the major challenges to Larino, who said he would follow the conditions the city set forth in 2007 when it approved a rezoning request from RLB.
Eastgate Avenue would be relocated east, away from the highway, and Chestnut Expressway east of U.S. 65 would be widened to five lanes, Larino said.
His retail development is expected to encompass more land than the school campus, and Larino may purchase 20 acres of adjoining land from High Street Baptist Church.
Both the school property and the church land were rezoned for general retail use, from single-family residential and agricultural use in 2007.
Though RLB initiated the change in land use, the rules the city has prescribed for retail development on the land are still valid, regardless of ownership, said Ralph Rognstad, the city's planner and development director.
To pay for road improvements, Larino said he may seek some economic incentives, though he has yet to decide what he would ask.
Springfield city planners said they expect Larino to ask for a CID, or a Community Improvement District.
A CID, once approved by a municipality, allows property owners within the district to levy up to one-cent sales tax to generate new income to pay for public infrastructure improvements, said Mike MacPherson, the city's principal planner for the development review division.
Larino has successfully sought the CID designation for his Wilson Creek Marketplace in Battlefield and Chestnut Crossing in west Springfield.
The two projects have one-cent and half-cent CID sale taxes, respectively.
On Monday, Larino said details of road improvements would be dictated by the retailers, because different businesses generate different traffic patterns.
He plans to tear down the 102,609-square-foot school building to make way for new development.
Larino declined to name any potential retailer or reveal the nature of any business, but said the development would require several anchor tenants, or major shops.
Financing is a challenge, but Larino said there are good signs.
"(The banks) realize the potentials and rewards for that corner," Larino said. "My impression is that they want to finance a good, solid deal, and they want to help the community build."
And Larino is optimistic about the project.
The land is located at a busy intersection that connects conveniently to downtown Springfield and the airport, and it has a lot of residents nearby.
"It's a real nice opportunity for the city of Springfield," Larino said. "I am personally excited that it will bring some new sales and property tax that we desperately need."
March 09, 2010 Read the complete article from News-Leader.com » |
