Brenden Moore
The State Journal-Register
After a few concerns were addressed, the use of $7.65 million from the Central Area tax-increment financing district for a hotel and entertainment complex at Fourth and Washington streets is one step closer to a final vote.
Springfield City Council members, after hearing a presentation from the project’s developers at Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, placed the TIF request on the consent agenda for next week’s city council meeting, basically guaranteeing that it will be approved.
The $56 million project would include the construction of a 95-room hotel, 17 luxury apartment units, ground level and rooftop retail space, a “one of a kind” rooftop bar facing the state Capitol, about 200 public parking spaces and an entertainment center that would include bowling, billiards, a lounge and outdoor TV screen.
The site, 300-320 E. Washington St., is now occupied by a city-owned parking ramp and a privately-owned building now occupied by Club Station House nightclub, both of which would be razed.
Allen Williams, a spokesman for the developer, DK Collections SPI, LLC., also disclosed for the first time the names of the three groups in on the venture.
The ownership group includes Chicago-based WC Solutions, LLC., which lists DeAndre Allen as its registered agent with the Illinois secretary of state’s office; Mount Prospect-based A Plus X Creative Labs, LLC., which lists Patrice Perkins as its registered agent; and Tallahassee, Florida-based New Legacy Property Ventures, LLC, which lists Alexis Moreland as its registered agent.
Though alderman were generally impressed with the presentation, there was some lingering concern about parking availability and hotel occupancy rates.
Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin said he was concerned about the potential impact on other downtown hotels.
Williams, however, said their market research shows the project will have a minimal effect on existing hotels, given the smaller scope of the project and its extended stay nature.
Further addressing McMenamin’s concerns, Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau director Scott Dahl said the city is well below the number of rooms it’s had in the past and could absorb a relatively small increase.
“If it was a large-scale convention hotel, I think it there would be a lot of concern there,” Dahl said. “By adding 95 rooms, it gets us just under 4,000 rooms. We’ve been there before. Again, we know our goal is 60 percent occupancy down the pipeline, so there’s really no concerns as far as a supply factor.”
The developers hope to break ground this summer with an anticipated completion date of September 2021.
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 