Town & Country Shopping Center has a new owner, who says he plans to make about $5 million in renovations at the site on South MacArthur Boulevard and begin the work in the next 30 days.
“I think it has a lot of potential,” Trent Overhue of Springfield, Missouri, told Illinois Times on March 9. “It’s a good neighborhood center.”
Overhue, 40, told Illinois Times he bought the 260,000-square-foot shopping center in late February from David Bernstein, president of Miami-based Larkspur Properties. Illinois Times in December reported that Town & Country Shopping Center failed to sell at an auction that month.
At that time, Bernstein wouldn’t talk about why planned improvements had stalled and the property was put on the auction block. However, auctions are sometimes used by developers to identify potential investors in projects by setting the minimum selling price high and then contacting bidders in the wake of the unsuccessful sale. Overhue told IT he was the top bidder at the auction.
Overhue wouldn’t disclose the purchase price, and the price, normally part of documentation filed with Sangamon County government offices, wasn’t available as of March 11.
Larkspur purchased the 65-year-old complex in 2022 for $5.77 million from bond holders who owned the assets. The property previously was owned by a group that included Springfield developer Corky Joyner and former Springfield corporation counsel Jim Zerkle.
Overhue said he owns and operates about 20 other shopping centers and commercial properties in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas and Wisconsin. The closest shopping center he owns is in Peoria, he said.
Facade upgrades will be part of the improvements at Town & Country, Overhue said, but his overall scope of work differs from what the previous owner had envisioned.
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Overhue isn’t planning to include construction of apartments that were part of Bernstein’s concept. Overhue said residential construction and management aren’t part of his other properties. Bernstein had applied for, and received, a conditional permitted use from the Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission, to allow apartments to be built on the site along with retail space.
Overhue said he is unsure whether renovations, which will be completed this year, will include preparations for a future tenant offering indoor storage units. Bernstein had said his plans for the biggest empty space at Town & Country – 65,000 square feet that had been occupied by Burlington Coat Factory – included converting that space for potential indoor storage units.
The open-air Town & Country Shopping Center built in the early 1960s was the first outlying shopping center in Springfield as retail outlets across the country began opening in such centers instead of in urban cores of communities. The shopping center was one-third the size of White Oaks Mall, which opened in 1977.
About 65% of the shopping center’s space is vacant. Current tenants include the Illinois State Board of Elections, Dollar Tree, Citi Trends and Underdog Sports & Fanfare.
Paul Layton, the owner of Underdog Sports, said he hopes the planned renovations proceed and that more tenants can be enticed to Town & Country.
Michael Higgins, president of the MacArthur Boulevard Association, which represents residents of the neighborhood, said he had hoped to see Bernstein’s group build the 40 to 50 market-rate apartments in a three-story complex as part of Larkspur’s plans.
But basic improvements at Town & Country would be welcome, too, Higgins said.
He said he is frustrated that the Illinois Department of Transportation hasn’t begun a major improvement project on MacArthur Boulevard. IDOT officials told Illinois Times in 2022 that $28 million in state-funded improvements were expected to begin between 2022 and 2027.
The work would include reconstructing the road, replacing traffic signals and making other changes related to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
IDOT spokesperson Paul Wappel said in an email on March 11: “The reconstruction of MacArthur Boulevard between Wabash Avenue and South Grand Avenue remains in development. The improvement consists of pavement reconstruction, a bi-directional turn lane between Laurel Street and South Grand Avenue, traffic signal replacement, a shared-use path and other improvements.”
Wappel added: “Unfortunately, the Phase I engineering has taken longer than anticipated, and we expect it will be completed in 2026. At that time, the project will advance to Phase II, which includes preparation of construction plans and right-of-way acquisition. The construction timeline is now anticipated to be in the 2029 to 2031 range. Construction funding is included in our fiscal 2026–2031 Multi-Year Highway Improvement Program (MYP). The estimated project cost has been updated to $34 million, which includes construction, land acquisition and utility relocation.”