Regardless of whether the Wyndham hotel apartment proposal – which the city council voted down Tuesday – was a good one, it’s frustrating to Economic and Community Development Commissioner Sheila Stocks-Smith, who spoke up after a presentation Wednesday by Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance president and CEO Ryan McCrady.
“I’ve watched this now so many times,” said Stocks-Smith, referring to repeated failures for would-be developers to gain a foothold in Springfield, “and, as the Growth Alliance, are you supporting these kinds of things? I mean, this is what you do, right?You are trying to attract these developers to come here, spend money, revitalize buildings, whatever.”
“In a general sense,” said the ever-diplomatic McCrady, “I can explain that if a developer like this one was interested in the community and approached the Growth Alliance, we would be very, very involved in working with the developer and also working with the mayor and city council to try to help them have a smooth takeoff into the community.”
Put another way, McCrady said his group’s economic development expertise is available by invitation only, and they were never invited.
The proposal, which required a council-approved rezoning, would have resulted in most of the Wyndham’s hotel rooms being converted to studio and one-bedroom apartments.