Springfield Electric Supply Company’s Springfield headquarters will be undergoing significant renovations, and the property owners are seeking TIF assistance from the city of Springfield.
Springfield Electric’s location at 700 N. Ninth St. will be impacted by the Springfield Rail Improvements Project, and construction on Usable Segment Six, between Carpenter Street and Ridgely Avenue, is expected to begin in 2023.
WRS Legacy LLC owns the property, which is leased to Springfield Electric. The business was acquired by Sonepar USA, a subsidiary of the privately held Sonepar Group, last year. In the U.S., Sonepar serves the market with a network of electrical and industrial distributors with 700 locations and coverage in all 50 states.
“They’re looking to do demolition of active warehouse space and a loading dock to accommodate the expanded railroad right-of-way,” said Ravi Doshi, TIF administrator for the city’s Office of Planning & Economic Development. He said a new 19,400-square-foot warehouse and three-bay truck dock would be constructed in its place, along with restructuring and repaving parking lots.
The total project budget is $5 million, and Dan Dungan, on behalf of WRS Legacy, has requested $1.5 million in assistance from the Enos Park TIF District toward the total cost.
“The TIF participation will be in the form of annual property tax rebates not to exceed $1.5 million,” said Doshi, noting that the existing TIF balance would not be impacted. “The request is also below the 1/3 (total project cost) threshold for TIF funding.”
Doshi said that since the property is located in an Enterprise Zone, the property owner would also be receiving $241,000 in building material exemption by not having to pay 9.75% sales tax on the purchase of building materials for the project.
The city’s Economic Development Commission approved the request at its April 26 meeting, although the EDC’s vote is non-binding. The city council will vote on the project May 3.
EDC chair Mark Vance said Springfield Electric had considered a few different options before deciding to remain in the current location. “They could have looked at property somewhere else in Springfield, or considered moving this operation to one of their other locations in Bloomington, Peoria, etc. We’re glad they decided to stay put and reinvest in this neighborhood.”
