Building permits – Aug. 3 to Aug. 9
City of Springfield received a demolition permit for 1615 North Grand Ave. E. Contractor is GreenTrac, LLC and the project is valued at $9,375. Abraham Lincoln Hotel LLC received a commercial remodel permit for 701 E. Adams St. Contractor is Pinnacle Construction Inc. and the project is valued at $658,000. Fresh Visions Community Church received…
Building permits – July 27 to Aug. 2
Connie Martin Baker LLC & Stearns Investment Co. received a commercial permit (addition) for 2801 Lindbergh Blvd. Contractor is Baldovin Co. and the project is valued at $1.3 million. AMM Springfield LLC received a commercial permit (new construction and parking lot) for 3200 Northfield Drive. Contractor is HR Green Development and the project is valued…
The risk (and assurance) of avoiding risk
Picture two leaders sitting in the same meeting:The first hears a bold new idea and immediately thinks, “This is exciting. It could transform our business.”The second hears that same idea and thinks, “That is a crazy idea, and it will never work.”Too often, we celebrate the first leader as innovative and quietly dismiss the second…
The Spot 90’s bar & grill
If you grew up in the 1990s, a visit to The Spot 90’s Bar & Grill is likely to trigger a wave of nostalgia that approaches sensory overload. Located on Ginger Creek Drive on Springfield’s west side, The Spot pays homage to a decade that gave us everything from grunge music and compact discs to…
Environmental issues in commercial real estate
Environmental issues regarding real estate may seem commonplace these days, but the implications have real-world consequences for the uninformed.Imagine you’ve bought your first piece of income-producing property. After several months, you discover the prior owner dumped contaminants out the back door, and now the Environmental Protection Agency wants you to clean up the property. It…
Ceremony honors faculty leadership, pioneers of academic medicine
The June 29 investiture ceremony at the Memorial Learning Center in Springfield recognized three faculty leaders whose careers have shaped surgery, plastic surgery and emergency medicine across central and southern Illinois. Dr. Michael Neumeister was invested as the J. Roland Folse, MD, Endowed Chair of Surgery. Dr. Nicole Sommer became the Elvin G. Zook, MD, Endowed Chair…
Supporting local charities with local dollars
While the American Business Club of Springfield is part of the national AMBUCS nonprofit organization, its impact has been locally focused for 100 years.“Springfield volunteers raising Springfield dollars impacting Springfield lives,” said Kevin Lust, one of the club’s recent presidents.Lust said ABC of Springfield is “dedicated to inspiring people to conquer challenges related to mobility…
Businesses should consider cyber insurance
Cybersecurity threats are one of the fastest-growing areas of concerns for businesses across almost every industry and in companies of almost every size, according to Nicholas Koch of Troxell, a Springfield-based insurance company.“You only hear about the large companies, but the regular person would be shocked at how often cyber incidents are happening in every…
Growth Alliance chosen for pilot research program
The Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance will be one of eight organizations in Illinois to partner with the Illinois Economic Development Corporation’s Economic Research Center in the inaugural cohort of the Regional Research Pilot Program (R2P2). The program will give the Growth Alliance access to the databases, and experts in analyzing these databases, used by site…
Local small businesses put AI to work
Brittney Robinson and Caitlin Becker are using artificial intelligence to build an app for Bloom Wine Bar and Florals, streamlining what had been a manual task for their small business.Robinson said their vision was to create an app where members can log in, see their current perks, redeem benefits, track visits and stay updated on…
Q&A with Mark Watson
While in high school, Mark Watson started working at CDS Office Technologies, the office equipment, printing and copying business founded by his father, Jay Watson, in 1971. Mark came back to the family business after graduating from University of Illinois in 1987 and has been there ever since. Mark saw CDS diversify in the 1990s…
