Springfield Business Journal_2021-01-25

SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 21 JAN 25-31, 2021 NEWS BRIEFS by SBJ Staff · sbj@sbj.net Jim D. Morris, a longtime Springfield businessperson and philanthropist, died Jan. 9, according to his obituary posted to KlingnerFuneralHome.com. He was 86. Morris retired in 2017 af- ter selling Morris Oil Co. Inc. to Rapid Robert’s Inc. earlier that year. Morris experienced a “health scare” a couple of years prior to his retirement, a family attorney told Spring- field Business Journal in Au- gust 2017. With additional holdings in real estate, Morris used funds gained throughout his career toward charitable causes. The Arc of the Ozarks and Great Circle – previously Boys & Girls Town of Missouri – named their Springfield cam- puses in honor of Morris after receiving donations from him. Missouri State Uni- versity’s Jim D. Morris Center is among other properties that bear his name, and he provided early investments for Springfield children’s health, hunger and hygiene nonprofit Care to Learn. “I have always had a desire to help and assist organizations that benefit the less fortunate, especially those that assist un- derprivileged children,” Morris said in 2011, when he was a recipient in SBJ’s Men of the Year. “I want all children to have the opportunity to succeed.” At its peak in the 1980s and ’90s, Morris Oil operated 60 stores selling 50 million gal- lons annually. Rapid Robert’s in 2017 purchased Morris Oil’s seven stations in Springfield, Nixa and Branson, according to past reporting. Morris got into the oil busi- ness after starting out picking cotton and peaches in Missouri’s Bootheel. SBJ’s 2008 Lifetime Achievement in Busi- ness honoree, Morris had a severe speech impediment until high school, one of the contributors to his emphasis on under- privileged children in his philanthropy work. Jim D. Morris retired in 2017 after selling Morris Oil Co. Jim D. Morris dies at 86 by Geoff Pickle · gpickle@sbj.net The city of Springfield outlined addi- tional details of the multimillion-dollar Grant Avenue Parkway project. Tim Rosenbury, the city’s director of quality of place initiatives, pre- sented an update on Jan. 19 to Springfield City Council. Of- ficials with Crawford, Murphy & Tilly Inc., hired as consult- ing engineer last year for the project, were introduced to lay out funding and construction details. “This is much, much more than a street project,” Rosen- bury said, pointing to econom- ic development opportunities, transportation improvements, and quality of life and commu- nity revitalization plans. “It’s a compre- hensive, collaborative effort across several city departments.” Steve Prange, CMT’s Springfield office leader, said the project’s total funding is $26.2 million, comprising a $21 million federal grant announced in 2019 and $5.2 million in matching funds from the city. Of that funding, the largest amount is earmarked for construction of the trail, at $13.3 million, Prange said. Plans call for a greenway trail system and transportation improvements along a 3.3-mile stretch of Grant Avenue from Sunshine Street to Walnut Street. Additionally, $5 million will be used for utility work, such as putting electric cables underground; $4.7 million will go toward right-of-way acquisitions; and $3.2 million is earmarked for engineering and adminis- trative costs, Prange said. “Our job is to stretch the scope of the project, get the city more for the same amount of money,” he said. To do so, Prange said the project is utilizing a design- build delivery method that es- sentially allows the contractors and designers to work together in partnership with the city. A design-build request for qualifications is scheduled to launch April 1, followed by a request for proposals on June 1. The design-build team is scheduled to be selected by the end of August, Rosenbury said. CMT engineer Brian Eads said four basic concepts are being considered for Grant Avenue. An op- tion that early on has been favored by com- munity members in public meetings would add a median with plant life between two lanes of traffic, with sidewalk and other improvements on the sides of the road, he said. Engineers also are working on an en- trance to the walking and biking trail, at the intersection of Grant Avenue and Sun- shine Street. Eads said a widening of Sun- shine Street is part of proposed plans and that nearby Bass Pro Shops may weigh in on the entrance design. Eads additionally said right-of-way ac- quisitions may affect up to 15 commercial and residential properties along the cor- ridor. City outlines details of Grant Avenue Parkway Tim Rosenbury : A design-build team is to be selected by late August.