Within a few blocks of each other, both public and private landowners are doing their part to support community reinvestment, working with architects and contractors to find creative, sensible ways to evolve and age in place. The Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar, Springfield School District 186 and entrepreneurs Court and Karen Conn are doing something much more important than redeveloping space to do business.
As part of a larger ecosystem facing climate change and economic uncertainty, these property owners are dedicated to slow growth and gradual change to make a lasting positive impact. By choosing designs echoing the scale and rhythm of the past, they're showing that reusing, repairing and rebuilding a bridge to a collective community past is good for business.
Vinegar Hill Mall: New life for a historic complex
Karen Conn, proprietor and CEO of Conn's Hospitality Group, is taking the lead in a historic preservation movement that extends well beyond Springfield. As owners of Vinegar Hill Mall, 107 W. Cook St., CHG is busy making upgrades to the property complex which extends from Spring Street to Second Street and includes two sizable parking lots, the former Baur's Steakhouse and the DeWitt Wickliffe Smith Mansion, built in 1865, at 625 S. Second St.
"We make an effort to present an authentic experience as opposed to something cookie-cutter or a chain restaurant dictated out of a corporate office on the East Coast," Conn said. "Because when you get into these historic properties, they all have a story to tell. And once you tell that story, it creates more of an authentic experience for people."
The beautifully maintained DeWitt Wickliffe Smith Mansion is on the market, while providing a temporary home base for CHG. Formerly used as office space for the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission, as well as offices for an assortment of lobbyists and law firms, the once-stately residential home had been vacant for more than five years until CHG moved into it.
"I have it listed for sale because I don't want to be an office landlord, and we don't need a building that big. At 5,000 square feet, it could be an Airbnb or lobbyist office complex," Conn said.
The Conns acquired the Vinegar Hill Mall complex in October 2021. Almost exactly two years later, CHG opened the first business within the mall, a bar area converted into a British-style pub which offers ale, beers and other European spirits. There are plans to begin serving food there in 2025, according to Conn.
"We opened Trish and Mary's Pub by converting the former Julia's Kitchen area into an event space," she said. "Then in April of 2024, we opened Wm. Van's Café in the old Holy Land Diner facility."
According to Conn, it's been a challenging project.
"The week before we put an offer on the Baur's property, vandals got in and ripped out all of the plumbing. So it is vacant, and we still have plenty of work to do," Conn said. "This whole complex is huge. It's big money and we're just trying to do this one bite at a time. So it's going to take a lot of time."
Conn feels that the restaurant industry hasn't fully bounced back from the pandemic closures.
"After we got out of COVID-19, people went out and started to enjoy their social life. But then we went through supply chain issues and increases in product costs, and local people are feeling the same thing," she said. "Sales are down and labor costs are up, and that's the biggest challenge for us."
However, as an advocate for historic preservation, Conn has hopes that 2025 is going to be a better year.
While renovation continues at the Vinegar Hill complex, the old brick First Street block between buildings has been enclosed and more outdoor activities within the entire complex are planned.
"We're kind of treating the Vinegar Hill Mall right now as just one great big event venue with two restaurants, Wm. Van's and Trish & Mary's, along with a pub," said Conn.
Conn's Hospitality Group hosted the Kringle Christmas Market in December and an adult book fair in January in cooperation with Springfield's Lincoln Library and local bookstores. In February and March, Vinegar Hill Mall will be hosting more market days in an effort to generate foot traffic and shoppers in the vicinity, according to Conn.
In addition to Vinegar Hill Mall, CHG operates Obed & Isaac's Microbrewery & Eatery, 500 S. Sixth St., and The Cidery at 503 S. Seventh St., across from Lincoln's Home. Obed &Isaacs Peoria is located in a preserved 1889 church in downtown Peoria.
The Conns live on a historic farm in Elkhart and restored a building in downtown Elkhart on historic Route 66. Elkhart Station General Store features Illinois products, including wines that can be sampled in the tasting room.
Conn said she hopes that others looking to reinvest in Springfield's older neighborhoods will also be willing to think outside the box.
"It's not going to be easy, so make sure you have a lot of determination and perseverance," she said.
Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar: Blending in with the neighborhood
The Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar headquarters is another ingenious example of adaptive reuse, tucked almost incognito into cleverly connected housing at the northwest corner of Cook and College Streets. The pocket neighborhood known as German Settlers Row has been home base for IBAB, a quasi-public arm of the Illinois Supreme Court, for several decades.
Nearly 25 years ago, a growing IBAB commissioned Melotte Morse Architects to add a two-story office to the complex, fronting Cook Street with a walk-through to the historic Elkin House, directly east at the corner of College Street. It was built with construction meticulously designed to be almost indistinguishable in style, materials and proportions from the nearly century-old, converted residential houses around it. The Elkin House was also connected to the one-story McNabb House directly to the north.
In 2023, the firm now known as Melotte Morse Leonatti Parker completed a space-needs study, determining that IBAB couldn't remain at the site without an addition or relocating some operations. The innovative solution involves construction of a one-story infill building spanning an existing double driveway, creating meeting room and office space between the McNabb House and a newly purchased property, 623 S. College St., at the north end of the complex.
German Settlers Row contains almost a dozen stick-style, brick-and-frame cottages built around the turn of the 20th century or before. Several of the structures were moved to the site to avoid demolition during different stages of construction of the ever-burgeoning Illinois Capitol Complex and have been remodeled at different periods by a variety of owners. Due to their relocation and various renovations, the mini-district is ineligible for National Register of Historic Places designation, but the historic significance has been the subject of survey research and landmark documentation.
Though the blended family of IBAB structures are not listed as individual historic landmarks, efforts have been made to maintain historic appearance, with compatible craftsmanship and materials, according to MMLP architect David Parker.
"All of them are getting new siding, and we're re-roofing with an architectural shake shingle that looks very much like the original shakes which we believe the historic buildings would have had when they were built," he said.
To help maintain style and character, more durable fiber-cement siding will replace the deteriorated wood, echoing the profile and look of the original fabric. O'Shea Builders is serving as the general contractor for the project.
According to Eric Lohrenz, IBAB director of administration, increased space is needed for staff attorneys and file processors. In addition to accessibility modifications and restrooms, a greeting area for vendors and meeting space for members of the Illinois Supreme Court are also being expanded.
"One of the big factors that has been driving our space needs growth has been an increase in requests to provide accessible materials and accommodations for examinees related to the Americans with Disabilities Act," Lohrenz said.
The main entrance, located behind the complex and accessed through the alley off of College Street, now has improved accessibility from the parking area at ground level with a hidden interior ramp for bar examination applicants to utilize IBAB materials and services. In keeping with the historic style of the neighborhood, the existing IBAB buildings had front porches with entryways that required exterior ramps.
Parker conservatively estimates that construction will be complete by early summer. In the meantime, IBAB staff have been working remotely and from an alternate office location.
Springfield High School: A lesson in compatible design
Perhaps one of the best construction lessons to learn from District 186 can be found in the public school's master plan, which involves a variety of sound historic preservation and sustainability decisions.
Managing Springfield's school district involves stewardship of some 33 school sites throughout the city, with 81% of them over 50 years old and more than 33% over 75 years old. Springfield High School is 108 years old, meaning it was built in 1917, before the great-grandparents of its 1,450 students were born.
Ongoing work, with an estimated price tag of $123 million, will expand the footprint of Springfield High to the south facing Monroe Street and to the west bounding Walnut Street. A 1% sales tax hike passed by Sangamon County voters in 2018 is funding the projects throughout the district.
Renovations to the building include replacing portions of the 243,800-square-foot facility with more modern classrooms and spaces for athletics, arts, sciences and career and tech prep designed to highlight the fabric and character of the 1917 structure. The east-facing historic front façade, with its classical hints of beaux-arts styling and grand limestone stairway entrance, will remain as the landmark's legacy feature.
Swathed in construction fencing with a large "Coming Soon" sign that reads: Preserving History – Building for the Future, is an indoor athletic complex featuring three full-basketball courts along Monroe Street. The total facility space will be increased to 327,780 square feet, with an expanded parking area stretching west to Walnut Street.
Todd Cyrulik, project lead for BLDD Architects, said, "The goal of maintaining much of the original structure and restoring it to the original state before various phases of remodeling required discipline from the design team. But if you want to retain your heritage, that's the trade-off."
Max Dirker, O'Shea Builders operations director, and his team have dealt with the logistical challenges of reconstructing on an active campus. After land acquisition and demolition, teams mobilized for a groundbreaking in spring 2024. A phased approach with modular classrooms moving between semesters means the school doesn't need to give up more than 10 classrooms at any one time during the 30-month construction timeline.
Mike Grossen, director of operations and maintenance for Springfield Public Schools, said, "The exciting part is students get to immediately occupy the new space as it's finished, as opposed to waiting years, which is a very positive outcome for us."
SHS improvements are coming to fruition as the comprehensive renovation and addition project at Lanphier High School and Memorial Stadium is in its final stages. Southeast High School is also undergoing updates for classrooms and spaces for special needs, career and tech prep, a full competition field house and modernization of the existing Spartan Field, track facility and auditorium. Additions and improvements at many of the district's elementary and middle schools are taking place simultaneously.
As the master planner, BLDD Architects has been engaged from initial planning and financing to implementing the schools upgrade program. O'Shea Builders, along with various other local firms, have managed the construction of projects throughout District 186, which began in 2019.
Catherine O'Connor's views on the synergy between environmental sustainability and historic preservation are shaped by years of service to the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, National Alliance Preservation Commissions, the Illinois State Historical Society and the Friends of Sangamon Valley, among other community organizations.
