After years of sitting vacant, the southeast corner of National Avenue and Elm Street could soon be redeveloped.
The roughly 1.5-acre property previously housed a Panera Bread, GLO Dry Cleaning and Brown Derby liquor store. Activity at the property has slowed since a car crashed into the Panera in mid-2023. The cafe never reopened, and the Brown Derby location closed that fall. More recently, Barbershop Deluxe moved to a location on St. Louis Street after the barbershop, under different names and owners, had occupied the space at National and Elm since 1949. Buildings there have remained boarded and vacant, but now plans are underway to bring new activity to the area.
The property is owned by Nouvelle Realty, LLC, which is registered to Jo Ann
Junge, according to the Missouri Secretary of State business database. Junge is the co-owner of Brown Derby Wine Center and sister to Bass Pro Shops owner Johnny Morris.
Ryan Stewart, with Buxton Kubik Dodd Design Collective, is the project architect for the development. He told the News-Leader plans are moving forward for a mixed-use four-story building along National at the corner.
Plans include restaurant and office space on the ground floor with one and two-bedroom apartments on the remaining three floors spanning roughly 52,000 square feet total. Stewart said there will be 45 total units set to go for just above market-rate rents.
Due to the project's proximity and walkability to the Missouri State University campus, he said the apartments and businesses are likely to be more catered toward students. Stewart said tenants for the commercial space have not yet been determined.
The project has been underway since last fall, Stewart said, with hopes to have the building complete by early 2028. The property does not require a rezoning, but he said the owner does plan to utilize Chapter 353, an urban redevelopment property tax abatement program to remediate blight. Usage of the tax abatement program requires Springfield City Council approval.
While pre-development conversations have been ongoing with the city, Stewart said a final plan for the project has not yet been submitted. With the history of the area, and the Domino's location on the corner of National and Cherry Street being a former gas station, he said the project team is pursuing environmental studies as well prior to bringing equipment on site.
The city's recent transition to a revamped land development code and the fact that the property lies within the Rountree Urban Conservation District means the building is designed to be pedestrian-forward. Stewart said the building will be set further back from National, with additional greenspace and plaza space between the street and the frontage of the building designed to be more inviting to pedestrians along the street. There is also additional screening of the parking lot, which will be behind the building.
"Because of this location and because of the context of the neighborhood, you know, we're trying to be very sensitive to the architectural language in that area, and so the forms and the details respond to the homes in that area," Stewart said, noting Foursquare-style homes are common there. "It's contemporary but in a respectful way."
Marta Mieze covers local government at the News-Leader. Have feedback, tips or story ideas? Contact her at mmieze@news-leader.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Plans could revitalize vacant corner of National, Elm in Springfield
