Springfield Business Journal_2019-07-29

A m p l e I n d u s t r i e s Custom Pressure Sensitive Labels 417-725-2657 www.amplelabels.com 3D Virtual Proofing Digital & Flexo Printing Whether you need 10 labels or 10,000,000 we have the labeling solution for you! Full Service Label Design M O R E T H A N O F F I C E F U R N I T U R E Better workplace interiors starts with understanding what people need from their space. Furniture does not redefine your job or the tasks that work involves. But it can create a better place for you to work. Focused on real people doing real work in real buildings it’s time to align our needs with the settings around us. SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 43 JULY 29-AUG. 4, 2019 NEWS BRIEF ‘Springfield Batman’ plans Batpark at The Ridge by Geoff Pickle · gpickle@sbj.net Derek Smith, aka Springfield Batman, is planning a new project called the Batpark at The Ridge at Ward Branch. Smith said the “all-inclusive, sensory park” is slated for development on the south side of The Ridge, an estimated $500 million de- velopment by RW Developments LLC along South Campbell Avenue. The Batpark is designed with elements for children with and without disabilities, so they can play together, officials say. It will be wheelchair accessible and have “touch and feel” elements designed for children with autism, Smith said. The 5,000-square-foot Batpark will be located in a larger, 11-acre park with trails, a creek and a wooded recre- ation area at The Ridge, he said. “We don’t want any kid left behind,” said Smith, who was born half deaf and suffered chronic migraines growing up. At the center of the park is a playground that’s themed around the Batman superhero. Through his nonprofit Project Bat, Smith dons the superhero’s outfit to meet with chil- dren at area hospitals and events. Smith said the park also is designed with houses for ac- tual bats. “Bats can eat their own weight in bugs overnight,” Smith said, noting the bat houses would help keep insects away from the rest of The Ridge and serve as a learning opportu- nity for children. Phil Williams, co-developer of The Ridge who’s also principal of the NAI Enterprise LLC brokerage, said the playground designed by Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Play & Park Structures would allow children with and without special needs to play together in the same area. Other playgrounds, he said, typically create separate spaces. “They’ve always been treated as special,” said Williams, whose late cousin had spina bifida. “Sometimes they just want to feel nor- mal.” Smith, who’s also a commercial real estate agent with NAI, said the Batpark is expected to cost around $300,000. Project Bat’s annual fundraiser, dubbed the Bruce Wayne Gala, is scheduled Sept. 14 at The Old Glass House downtown. He noted Play & Park Structures pledged to match fundraising dollars. Williams said The Ridge is donating the land for the Batpark, which is targeting a 2021 opening. TIF at The Ridge Williams said a groundbreaking is expect- ed later this year for The Ridge, a 100-acre mixed-used development planned for restau- rants, hotels, offices, retail centers and lofts, as well as bike trails and natural elements. A senior living continuum-of-care center also is planned. The Springfield Land Clearance for Rede- velopment Authority on July 2 denied a blight petition for The Ridge, which is seeking a tax increment financing district. Sarah Kerner, Springfield’s director of economic development, said the LCRA dis- agreed with city staff members who were supportive of the blight designation. She said LCRA members weren’t “comfortable find- ing blight on an old farm.” RW Developments commissioned a blight study from St. Louis- based PGAV Planners, which found the area has “unsecured structures,” has been “subject to dumping,” and has topographic issues and bedrock throughout the property that would complicate development.  Kerner said RW Developments is moving forward on its TIF application. Williams said the TIF would help build roads and infra- structure. “We don’t have a lot of TIFs in Springfield, and we do not currently have an active TIF commission,” Kerner said. “All the members are expired. The next thing you’ll see is the appointment of members.” A TIF commission meeting and a review by the Springfield Planning & Zoning Com- mission are required before the issue is taken up by City Council, which ultimately will de- cide on the TIF application, Kerner said. Kerner said city staff members are “cau- tiously optimistic” about The Ridge. “It’s a very ambitious project,” she said. “Obviously it’s a good location, but it’s an area that is challenging to develop because of its geography.” Should everything go as planned, Williams expects development of The Ridge to be com- pleted in 2021. The Batpark is designed as an “all- inclusive, sensory park” for children with and without disabilities on the south side of The Ridge at Ward Branch, officials say. provided by DEREK SMITH

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy