Springfield Business Journal_2020-10-05

$2.00 · SBJ.NET OCT. 5-11, 2020 · VOL. 41, NO. 11 Area counties confident to meet CARES Act deadline by Mike Cullinan · mcullinan@sbj.net As the fourth quarter of 2020 arrives, counties in the Springfield metropolitan statistical area are preparing to accelerate distribu- tion of COVID-19 relief funds. County officials in the MSA, which comprises Greene, Chris- tian, Dallas, Polk and Webster counties, are confident the federal money dispersed through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Eco- nomic Security Act will be awarded to recipients before year’s end. The five counties in May were given a combined $55 million, and funds must be distributed and spent by Dec. 30. All remaining funds will be returned to the U.S. Depart- ment of the Treasury.  “When the program first came out, we were concerned,” said Webster County Clerk Stan Whitehurst, of meeting the deadline upon receiving $4.6 million in CARES Act funds. “As time goes on, we’re becoming more comfortable that we’ll be able to make good use of the money and will have to send little, if any, back to Uncle Sam.” Webster County distributed more than $1.6 million as of late September, with over $1.1 million going to local government entities, such as school districts and the Webster County Nursing Home District. The five school districts in the county – Fordland, Logan-Rogersville, Marshfield, Niangua and Seymour – have received nearly $900,000.  MCKENZIE ROBINSON Andrea Crawford and Titus Williams of Prosperiti Partners plan to develop multifamily housing in north Springfield next year. They say the project would require demolition of buildings, including a former property of The Kitchen Inc. Stan Whitehurst expects high volumes in Webster County’s next funding round. See DEADLINE on page 38 PRESENTING SPONSOR SPECIAL EDITION PAGE 9 The federal stimulus funding must be distributed by the end of the year Developer still awaits tax credits for Missouri Hotel by Mike Cullinan · mcullinan@sbj.net Late last year, developer Titus Williams expected construction work was a few months away for the site of the former Missouri Hotel. However, Williams recently said the wait continues. Approval on federal and state tax credits for the Com- mercial Street property he owns is still in progress. Of- ficials at his company, Prosperiti Partners LLC, don’t expect to hear notification on their applications until next year.  “But in order for it to be qualified for state tax credits, we have to wait until closer to July. There’s a lengthy process and timeline,” said Prosperiti Vice President of Development Andrea Crawford, noting federal tax credit approval could come as soon as February. “We can’t touch it technically until the tax credits are of- ficially approved.” It’s a yearslong delay for work on the site. Prelimi- nary plans call for multifamily housing, retail and office space, and a boutique hotel. Crawford and Williams say they’re not frustrated by the time that’s passed, as the development team continues to pursue other incentive opportunities through city tax abatements and a tax increment financing district, as well as the Commer- cial Street Community Improvement District.  Williams purchased the Missouri Hotel, 420 E. Commercial St., for an undisclosed price in early 2017 with former business partner Matt M. Miller through Historic Commercial Developments LLC. He plans to See HOTEL on page 36 Prosperiti Partners looks south of C-Street for multifamily project