Jason Nevel
The State Journal-Register
Jul 08, 2013
Springfield Park District officials balked at the notion Monday that they have committed to accepting donated land for a new park at Veterans Parkway and Jefferson Street.
Developers for Jefferson Crossing, a proposed $24 million commercial development on the site of the former Jefferson Mall, plan to dig up thousands of cubic yards of dirt, leaving a giant hole that could be converted into a fishing pond and donated to the park district. Developers say they need to raise the land 14 feet to bring it out of a 100-year floodplain. About 18 acres of the 44-acre site could be donated.
Park board president Leslie Sgro said Monday the board signed a letter of intent last September stating it would be interested in acquiring the property. However, the letter was not a guarantee, she noted.
The issue was raised at last week’s Springfield City Council meeting by Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin.
At the meeting, aldermen signed off on a plan to reimburse the developer $9.2 million from the Jefferson Crossing tax increment financing district that was created in 2007. Since there’s been no development at the site, the TIF fund has little money in it but is expected to generate millions once the commercial project is completed.
Asked by McMenamin last week about the park district accepting the donated land, Mayor Mike Houston said, “As far as we know, the park district will take the property.”
But that’s not necessarily the case, park officials say. Sgro said the board is in a much different financial position than it was last year, and adding another park would come at a cost for the already-cash-strapped park district.
In other parks with ponds, interim executive director Derek Harms said the park district has to spend money to curb algae growth. There are too many questions at this point,” Harms said. “We need to weigh all the pros and cons and get a better idea of what the land will look like before we make any decisions.”
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 