The Springfield City Council gave its approval to a $28.3 million proposed development by a New York company at Fifth and Madison streets, and also added an amendment ensuring that a Project Labor Agreement has to be negotiated in the future.
Adirondack Community Development can now move ahead with its lenders on The Lofts on Madison project.
The complex will be located at 301 N. Fifth Street on the north side of Madison Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets. This has been a vacant lot for the last five decades.
The Lots on Madison would consist of:
- 120,000 square feet of rentable space
- Six stories
- 136 apartments
- 87 one-bedroom units
- 30 two-bedroom units
- 19 three-bedroom units
- Ground floor would include 15,000 square feet of commercial retail
- Open-air courtyard is planned for middle of the development
- Rooftop pavilion
- Community room
- Gym
- Library room
- Office center
- On-site parking for 50 units
- Car wash
The State Journal-Register states that an amendment was added about the PLA and Victor Salerno, the chief officer of Adirondack said that he has already had a number of discussions with the Central Illinois Building & Construction Trades Council and he has committed to entering into a PLA.
Under a PLA, terms and conditions of employment for specific building projects are negotiated between the developer and unions, including percentage of the local workforce, women, and minorities on the project.
The project would bring 136 "market rate apartments" to downtown Springfield and the Mid-Illinois Medical District.
The rents would range from $1,100 to $1,450 per month. Salerno said he would love to see a Trader Joe's or some other market go into one of the retail spots on the first floor.
Yahoo! reports that the project is unique because the 1.1 acre site will be its own TIF district. Details of the TIF will need to go back to city council for approval.
"This is a self-financed project in the sense that you're only going to get money from that TIF if the assessed value of that vacant parking lot somehow becomes so much more valuable with a 136 unit development."
Ward 7 Alderman | Joe McMenamin
Bill Ringer, a School District 186 board member, stated that D186 personnel were not contacted about the property going into a targeted TIF. He was afraid that they were possibly giving up future revenue for a very long time.
Adirondack would put in about $3 million in private equity and independent financing of about $21 million.
The Lofts on Madison would create 40 full-time retail and commercial jobs and 10 full-time employees working on the property side as leasing agents, maintenance supervisors and a community manager.
