Hey, It Worked For Heer's

April 16, 2009

News Release

For Immediate Release

The City of Springfield received one response to its Request for Proposals due by 3 p.m., Wednesday, April 15, for the potential sale and development of a 293-acre tract of land in southwest Springfield.

The land has provided a buffer zone around the Southwest Wastewater Treatment Plant. The construction of the James River Freeway has changed the buffer area needed around the treatment plant and also has increased the development potential of the property.

The response to the RFP was submitted by Opus Northwest as a letter proposing an alternative to an outright sale of the land. Opus Northwest first entered the Springfield market in 2007 as the owner/developer for the new BKD headquarters building in Center City and has developed additional private business projects in Springfield since that time.

The Opus proposal suggests a mixed-use industrial park under a long-term development agreement as opposed to an outright sale of the land under the current international economic conditions.

City Economic Development Director Mary Lilly Smith is forwarding the letter of interest to the City Manager's Office and the City Council for their review. (A copy of the letter is attached.)

The property is bounded by the James River Freeway on the south; Kauffman Road and West Bypass on the east; Farm Road 156/ Brookline Road on the north; and Farm Road 119/Hutchinson Road on the west.

The City Council authorized issuing the RFP for potential sale of this property in Council Resolution 9623 at its Sept. 15, 2008 meeting.

For more information, contact: Mary Lilly Smith, Economic Development Director, 864-1094; or Louise Whall, Director of Public Information, 864-1010.