CoreLife Eatery to open this week
By Stacie Peecher Lewis The much-anticipated opening of CoreLife Eatery at 2580 Wabash Ave. will be realized today. Taking a step away from the usual fast food offerings, the restaurant prides itself on its fresh and made-from-scratch ingredients and dishes. As community relations spokesperson Pauline DiGiorgio points out, the restaurant does not have any freezers…
Downtown builds momentum
BY KAREN ACKERMAN WITTER If you care about the future of downtown Springfield and want to help make a difference, come to the “Momentum on Main Street” event on Thursday, March 21 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Arlington’s. This is an initiative of the Downtown Springfield, Inc. (DSI) economic vitality committee, which is looking for the…
Alec Messina now a partner at HeplerBroom
Alec Messina, immediate past director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, has joined Midwest litigation firm HeplerBroom as a partner in its Springfield office. Messina will focus on HeplerBroom’s government affairs practice group which assists clients on their interactions with local, state and federal government. Messina has 20 years of experience in environmental law, policy…
Read which building permits were approved by the City of Springfield between March 4 and March 10, 2019.
Building permit roundup – March 13 BY STACIE PEECHER LEWIS Purcell Properties, LP obtained a commercial permit for a renovation project at 3441 E. Lumber Ln. P. J. Hoerr is the contractor and the project is valued at $700,000. National Rental Properties, LP obtained a commercial remodel permit for 2350 W. Chuckwagon Dr. DBS Group,…
Confidence soars during trades training
BY LINDSEY SALVATELLI Students at South Town Construction Training Center are in week six of the 12-week program, and have just received their OSHA cards, a necessary step to working in the electrical trade. The students who are part of the current class have left their mark on the training center, with a wall they’ve…
Building confidence for the future
BY LINDSEY SALVATELLI Six students have taken the opportunity to learn the construction trade at South Town Construction Training Center, 1122 S. Grand Ave E. Students are given hands-on-training through a 12-week program that aims to give unskilled workers potential knowledge and real experience they’re able to apply while working on residential construction sites. By…
Springfield Mowers to move into The Rock Shop building
Springfield Mowers & Power Equipment is preparing to move and expand and will leave its current leased space at 1514 W. Jefferson in Springfield later this year. Owner Rob Kalabus says he has purchased The Rock Shop building just down the street at 1808 W. Jefferson, which will nearly triple the space available for both…
2019 WE-CI Women’s Showcase
Women Entrepreneurs of Central Illinois (WE-CI) is holding an event to celebrate women business owners and their contributions to the community. The 2019 WE-CI Women’s Showcase will be held on Wednesday, March 13 from 4-7 p.m. at Erin’s Pavilion. There is no cost to attend, but registration is recommended and all advance ticket holders will…
Read which building permits were approved by the City of Springfield between Feb. 25 and March 3, 2019.
Building permit roundup – March 6 BY STACIE LEWIS Mekong Café 2, Inc. obtained a commercial electric remodel permit for work at 1308 S. Second St. The contractor is T.S. Electrical and the project is valued at $58,000. Fifth Street Renaissance obtained a commercial remodel permit for 1520 N. Seventh St. D & O Contractors,…
Illinois Real Estate Title Center acquires First Community Title Services
Springfield-based title agency Illinois Real Estate Title Center, located at 2055 W. Iles Ave., has acquired First Community Title Services, a subsidiary of Heartland Bancorp, Inc. The acquisition adds FCT’s Bloomington, Champaign and Pekin locations to The Title Center’s existing offices in Springfield, Effingham, Jacksonville, Paris, Peoria and Quincy, for a total of nine locations.…
Todd Green acquires hotel management group
Todd Green, owner of the Green Family Stores automobile dealership group in Springfield and Jacksonville, has acquired a majority interest in the hospitality management company formerly known as Portfolio Hotels & Resorts, Inc. The company is now known as Core Hotels & Resorts Green (CHRG). The $242 million acquisition includes 15 hotels in seven states,…
J.J. Swartz opens Springfield location
J.J. Swartz Co., a residential and commercial contractor based out of Decatur, has opened an office in Springfield at 3901 Wood Duck Dr. Owner Brad Swartz is the fourth generation of the family-owned business, which started in 1921. The company, which has built many new homes in the Decatur area over the years, has increasingly…
Niche business success stories
These small businesses are surviving, despite competition from online sales Article and photos by DAVID BLANCHETTE Eighty percent survive the first year. Seventy percent are left after two years, 50 percent after five years, and only 30 percent are still around after 10 years. Those 30 percent are the small businesses in the United States…
Rebuilding older neighborhoods
Springfield has many opportunities for small-scale development BY CATHERINE O’CONNOR Governing magazine recently published the results of an in-depth investigation into segregation in Illinois communities, including Springfield. A recent cover story in Illinois Times included excerpts from the lengthy report (“Segregated in the Heartland, Feb. 7), which also focused on income disparity between black and…
Marketing Springfield to millennials
BY ZACH ROTH Like many other towns in the Midwest and Rust Belt, Springfield has seen significant changes in the makeup of its population in recent years. It has become older, not to mention a little bit smaller. “Since 2010, the indications are that the population is continuing to decline,” said Molly Berns, executive director…
BankNotes – Business Enhancement Seminar
The commercial lending team at Marine Bank is hosting a BankNotes – Business Enhancement Seminar on Tuesday, March 19 at Illini Country Club. Networking begins at 4 p.m., followed by a program at 4:30 p.m. and cocktails at 5:30 p.m. Todd Smith, managing broker at Todd P. Smith Commercial Real Estate, and Bill Ward, executive vice…
Passavant Area Hospital appoints new chief medical officer
Dr. Scott Boston, an emergency medicine physician, has been named Passavant Area Hospital’s next chief medical officer (CMO). Boston will use the next two months to transition into the new role before officially assuming duties April 1. He replaces Dr. Marshall Hale, who is retiring March 31. A member of the Passavant medical staff…
Becky Woiwode and Scott Linde will join the new Cedarhurst
Cedarhurst of Springfield, which broke ground in March 2018, has announced that Becky Woiwode will be the senior executive director and Scott Linde has been hired as the community relations director for the assisted living and memory care community, which is scheduled to open in May. The $14 million senior living development, located at 3520…
Real Deals store to open in former Vic’s Pizza location
The former Vic’s Pizza location at 2015 Peoria Road in Springfield is getting ready to reopen, but not as a restaurant. Bill Wiebking, who has an existing business called Countryside Closeouts, purchased the property in January and plans to open a retail store called Real Deals, with items starting at just 50 cents. “I have…
Read which building permits were approved by the City of Springfield between Feb. 18 and Feb. 24, 2019.
Building permit roundup – Feb. 27 BY STACIE LEWIS An unknown owner obtained a commercial accessory structure permit for 2320 W. Monroe St. Ameritech is the contractor and the project is valued at $30,000. Roofers Mart, Inc. obtained a commercial remodel permit for 1700 E. Clear Lake Ave. O’Shea Builders is the contractor and the…
VELE owners plan to open Curate on Springfield’s west side
The owners of VELE, a modern Italian restaurant located in downtown Springfield, have announced plans to open a second restaurant in the Gables Shopping Center. Curate will be located at 2930 Plaza Drive in the building formerly occupied by McCormick’s Smokehouse, which closed at the end of 2018. Nickey Sperry, who owns VELE along with…
Local First social event
Local First is holding a social event on Thursday, Feb. 28 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Engrained Brewery & Restaurant. This will kick off the first of six after work socials throughout the year to allow local businesses the chance to network and learn more about how to support other locally owned businesses. There is no…
Recipients of the 2019 Best Places to Work award are announced
The 2019 recipients of the Best Places to Work award, sponsored by United Community Bank and Springfield Business Journal, are America Ambulance, Country Lane Memory Care, Illinois Real Estate Title Center and Sacred Heart-Griffin High School. A reception and awards ceremony will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 20 from 5:30-7 p.m. at the United Community Bank…
Building blocks for success
BY DAVID BLANCHETTE You see them every day: the restaurants, mobile phone stores, bank branches, nail salons, automobile dealerships, strip malls, apartments and other new or revamped buildings going up throughout the Springfield area. These commercial and multifamily residential structures – costing $2.5 million or under to build – are the bread and butter for…
Best places to work 2019
BY ERIC WOODS | PHOTOS BY TERRY FARMER Country Lane Memory Care Cari Claussen started Country Lane Memory Care in 2016. She always had a passion to create quality care for elderly individuals. “This drive to make a difference began when I visited my grandmother in a nursing home when I was just a teenager. My…
Rethinking workplace lunches
BY ZACH ROTH Business people looking for a quick bite to eat often grab some greasy fast food to satiate their appetites before returning to work. As much as people enjoy a double quarter-pounder, one can’t help but wonder about the health risks associated with excessive consumption of fast food, especially by people who sit…
Dr. Randal Peterson rejoins Springfield Clinic
Randal Peterson, MD, has rejoined Springfield Clinic’s Eye Institute effective Jan. 28. Peterson had most recently been practicing with Patrick Butler, MD, at Ophthalmology Center of Illinois. Peterson’s office is now located at Springfield Clinic Main Campus West at 1025 South Sixth Street in Springfield. “We’re excited to have Dr. Peterson rejoin the Eye Institute,”…
City of Springfield aldermanic forums
Springfield ICON (Inner City Older Neighborhoods) and the MacArthur Boulevard Association will host two forums for candidates for Springfield City Council. The goals of the forums are to educate the public about each candidate’s position on issues affecting Springfield’s neighborhoods and to provide ICON with information for ICON’s endorsements for the aldermanic races. These events…
