Author: joeward7

Thursday, September 29, 2011, By Bruce Rushton, Illinois Times

…Tuesday,  Hy-Vee, an Iowa-based supermarket chain, filed plans for a grocery store with the Springfield-Sangamon County Regional Planning Commission. The company wants to build both a grocery store and a convenience store on the parcel between Cherry Road and Outer Park Drive.

“It’s another step along the path,” said Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin. “They’ve got options to purchase on properties there, and they’re moving forward. We’re talking about a grocery store that will have 300 to 400 jobs.”

Plans for a tax increment financing district on MacArthur was “clearly” an inducement, McMenamin said. Besides eliminating a vacant block on MacArthur, a Hy-Vee store would strengthen and stabilize nearby neighborhoods, McMenamin said.

…

Read the full story at the Illinois Times…

DEANA STROISCH, The State Journal-Register,Posted Sep 28, 2011

Springfield officials and business leaders on Wednesday said Hy-Vee’s presence will give redevelopment efforts along a struggling section of MacArthur Boulevard a much-needed boost.  Officials also note that the proposed grocery store and convenience store will add jobs to the local economy and provide additional sales tax and property tax revenue to the city’s coffers.  And it will fulfill a wish of inner-city residents: a grocer on MacArthur Boulevard.

“It’s a tremendous boost to the entire Macarthur Boulevard,” said Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin, who represents the area. “It will bring jobs and strengthen the neighborhoods.”

“The neighborhoods are hungry for a neighborhood grocery store,” McMenamin said.

Read the full story at the SJ-R.com…

JOHN REYNOLDS, The State Journal-Register, Posted Sep 24, 2011

With its peeling paint and cracked parking lot, the old Taylor Rental building at 2056 S. MacArthur Blvd. isn’t going to win any beauty awards.

In Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin’s opinion, the vacant building is in line for another distinction.   “There have been complaints on that building,” said McMenamin. “It competes for one of the worst looking properties on MacArthur at the present time.”

Building “detracts from neighborhood”

County documents list the owner of the building as Key Properties LLC, care of Robert Dahl.

Key Outdoor Advertising is in the converted brick bungalow next to the building and shares the same address as the former rental building. A man who answered the phone at the advertising office said Dahl was out of town.

In addition to the peeling paint, McMenamin said some of the fascia boards are rotten and there are missing and loose shingles.

Alderman offered plan

McMenamin said he approached employees at the advertising agency and told them he was willing to work out a deal where he would use the old building as an aldermanic office and make improvements in lieu of rent.   “I was looking for properties I might be able to improve and use as an office,” McMenamin said. “We exchanged business cards and I asked for a call-back. I never got one.”

Read the full story at the SJ-R.com…

Thursday, September 15, 2011, By Bruce Rushton, Illinois Times

MacArthur Park is a microcosm for community activists throughout Springfield who want the city to do something about problem properties in their neighborhoods.

…

Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin, whose ward includes MacArthur Park and who swore out an affidavit used to obtain last month’s search warrant, said the city has gotten the attention of MacArthur Park’s owner. But he’s not ready to predict what the complex will look like in five years.

“It’s too early to judge,” McMenamin says. “It depends on how this enforcement action goes.”

Read the full story at the Illinois Times…

DEANA STROISCH, THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER 

Aldermen voted to begin creation of Springfield’s ninth tax increment financing district along MacArthur Boulevard.

The proposed TIF district area would include both sides of MacArthur from South Grand Avenue to Summit Avenue, from alley to alley, but would include only properties that front the street.

Aldermen also approved a $29,000 contract with Peckham, Guyton, Albers & Viets Inc. to serve as the city’s consultant on creation of the district. The process could take more than a year.

DEANA STROISCH,THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER,Posted Aug 31, 2011

The owner of one of Springfield’s largest apartment complexes has complied with the city’s demands so far, registering seven of its buildings and applying for and receiving permits to fix dozens of alleged building code violations.

The city has scheduled a follow-up inspection of those seven buildings in the MacArthur Park Apartments, 2715 S. MacArthur Blvd., for mid-September, said John Sadowski, the city’s building department manager. Springfield attorney Don Craven, who was hired by the complex in late July to assist attorney Michael Durr, said he and Durr visited the property recently.

JASON NEVEL,THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER, Aug 29, 2011

A proposal to move a used Mercedes-Benz dealership and repair outlet to the former Esquire theater parking lot on MacArthur Boulevard faces steep resistance from neighborhood leaders.

The owners of Robert’s Automotive, currently at 1900 S. Sixth St., filed a petition with the city two weeks ago to rezone the area from shopping and office uses to “highway business service.”

The reclassification is needed for Robert’s to build on the property. The business’ web site says it has specialized in Mercedes-Benzes sales and service for 30 years and recently added BMWs to its offerings.

At a meeting Monday night at Boardman-Smith Funeral Home, 800 South Grand Ave. W., about 35 people objected to Robert’s rezoning petition.

Restoring MacArthur Boulevard has been a pressing issue for some time.  Along with the theater, the former site of K-Mart and a next-door bowling alley now sit vacant, and title-loan outlets dot the street between South Grand and Wabash avenues.

The negative response from city leaders and people in the area was surprising, according to Brian Wilbern, assistant general manager at Robert’s. He said the company will sell nicer cars on the property.

“I don’t understand why they would rather have an empty parking lot and wait for somebody to develop it,” he said. “It’s going to be very nice.”

The petition filed with the city by Robert’s covers what once was the theater’s overflow parking lot south of the theater building. In the petition, Robert’s said it would build a six- to eight-bay garage, along with an office area.

The request will be discussed by the Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission on Sept. 21.

Read the full story at SJ-R.com…

Roberts Automotive has submitted a petition to the Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission for a change in zoning for the parking lot of the old Esquire Theater.

Every petitioner deserves a fair hearing, and my policy is to take no position on matters until I am familiar with the facts. My intent is to treat all requests with open mindedness and respect, and to avoid prejudgment. I have a copy of the petition, and I will be studying the matter so I am prepared to respond appropriately as the request comes before the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Springfield City Council.

I hope to attend the meeting Monday, August 29 at 7pm at Boardman-Smith Funeral Home.

Please contact me at JoeForWard7@aol.com, 217-787-2297  or visit me during Office Hours if you have concerns.

By DEANA STROISCH (deana.stroisch@sj-r.com), THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER

Proposals to create Springfield’s ninth tax increment financing district along a struggling section of MacArthur Boulevard were introduced to aldermen this week.

Mayor Mike Houston said he believes the area will meet the requirements needed to be designated as a TIF district.  “The real secret in terms of dealing with something along MacArthur is limiting the boundaries,” he said.  The city is targeting MacArthur Boulevard from South Grand Avenue to Summit Avenue.  Houston said the TIF district area would include both sides of MacArthur — from alley to alley – but include only properties that front the street. The troubled MacArthur Park Apartments