Back in 2017, the City of Springfield brought in consulting group, PGAV Planners, to conduct a study on the 3 1/2 mile stretch of Kearney between Kansas Expressway and Glenstone.
That study found that, while the area was stagnating economically, significant retail opportunity was present, as well as strong public desire to see more investment in the area. The city also conducted a blight study, which found that the stretch did, in fact, meet the state requirements to be declared blighted, having poor street conditions (in particular, too many curb cuts), unsanitary conditions and many buildings in poor shape — close to 70% of the buildings were in "poor or fair condition," with only 5.5% in "excellent condition," according to senior city planner Matt Schaefer, who presented at the meeting.
PGAV recommended implementing a redevelopment plan, which would provide 10 years of tax abatement to new developments that met certain criteria — the developments couldn't fall under a list of excluded uses (including, for example, pawn shops and adult video stores), had to be built using durable exterior materials, be located on the street itself and had to minimize the number of curb cuts.
City council approved that plan in 2018, but between then and 2023, when the plan expired due to a required sunset clause, only seven projects took advantage of the tax incentives — six of which were concentrated on the corner of Kearney and Glenstone.
Now, city employees want to give it another go, and Tuesday night they turned to residents of Springfield's north side for input. Attendees expressed hope that reworked tax incentives could at least bring in grocery stores, sit-down restaurants and more.
"We need something besides fried fast food and vape shops," said Chance, a local who KSMU spoke to after the meeting.
"And car washes," another local resident cut in.
After the city produces an updated blight study to comply with state regulations, they’ll present an amended plan to development authorities before bringing it to city council in early fall.
Shaefer mentioned a number of possible updates: Reconsidering the list of excluded uses (most likely expanding it) and the exterior materials requirement and relying on Springfield's updated building codes to maintain standards for landscaping and curb cuts.
Still, a number of attendees expressed that the city would need to do more to revitalize the area — several made mention of the area's high homeless population.
Schaefer agreed.
"This is not a silver bullet to address all the problems along Kearney Street. I mean, there are other things that would have to happen in conjunction," he said, "but this is one thing that could be offered."