All Four Plans for Former Arena Site Move Forward

What will become of the land between the Jordan Valley Car Park and Expo Center? 

On Monday, Springfield's Tax Increment Financing Commission met one final time and approved all four potential developers' plans.  But not all members of the TIF commission met eye-to-eye.

Springfield development staple John Q. Hammons, Branson Landing developer HCW Evergreen and Kansas City's BC Development all want to build office space and a hotel on the 1.7 acres in Jordan Valley.  The fourth developer, Opus Northwest, is only leaving a possibility of a hotel down the line.  That didn't sit well with a few members of the commission, but they were ultimately outvoted.

"We feel like the project should be market-driven.  With the office structure, we already know that we have a tenant, an anchor tenant. It's up to each of the developers to determine the market feasibility of their hotel project. So, whatever they're going to need to get their financing in place will determine whether they need a market study." says Mary Lilly Smith, Springfield’s Economic Development Director.

Smith says at this point she'll work with each developer to come up with a master plan over the next month.  She says her recommendations will likely go before city council in the late summer.