Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register
The owners of the former Esquire Theatre property have told city officials they intend to raze the long-vacant building, which could make way for more development along MacArthur Boulevard. The announcement, which Springfield Mayor Mike Houston made at Thursday morning’s MacArthur Boulevard Association meeting, follows the news Wednesday that city leaders struck a deal with the owners of the troubled Bel-Aire Motel on South Sixth Street to tear down that building.
As far as the MacArthur Boulevard Association is concerned, the former Esquire — a large, nondescript gray building that sits just south of MacArthur Boulevard and South Grand Avenue — being demolished falls in line with their hopes for changes along the corridor, association president Jen Dillman said. After the development of Hy-Vee at the site of a former Kmart, association members turned their attention to the Esquire property.
The former Esquire is a registered vacant building with the city, and the registration will come due after three years on Feb. 16. At that point, in order to comply with city code, the owners, AMC Theatres Inc., must either bring the building up to code or demolish it. “They’ve indicated verbally they plan to demolish,” Houston said Thursday, which means the building could be no more come spring.
AMC purchased the property from Kerasotes Theatres several years ago, and it’s been on the market since then, said Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin, who represents that area of the city. The listing price has been as high as $1.2 million for the AMC-owned properties on MacArthur Boulevard, though the company has conveyed that the price is negotiable, McMenamin said.
A number of ideas have been floated over the years for possible uses of the property, but McMenamin said he thinks it’s well-suited for a mixed-use development with retail and “quality multiunit housing for downsizing seniors and young singles who wish to live close to Washington Park, downtown, Hy-Vee and other shops along MacArthur.”
“It’s a really positive step forward given the circumstances,” McMenamin said after the association meeting. “Historic restoration of the building was not a viable economic option.”
A few years ago, the Lakota Group, a Chicago-based consulting firm, led a redevelopment planning effort for South MacArthur Boulevard, which it called “one of the most important commercial corridors” in the capital city. The former Esquire, which is the largest undeveloped property along MacArthur, has been vacant for about a decade.
An Illinois Department of Transportation study is in the works now, which is looking at putting in new sidewalks and crosswalks on MacArthur Boulevard, especially with increased traffic due to the Hy-Vee grocery store and with there being three schools along the corridor, Dillman said.
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 