Big plans could soon start taking shape in downtown Springfield. Aldermen aren’t sure what they are yet, but first thing’s first: purchase the land.
The City Council will begin discussions this week on using 1.5 million downtown Tax Increment Finance dollars to purchase a large parking lot and the old YWCA.
“What I would envision is some type of mixed use project that might involve some retail, might involve some office, might involve residential all mixed in together,” said Springfield Mayor Mike Houston.
The downtown TIF expires in 2016. The district will keep property values as they are now, and when they go up, they’re funneled back to the developer to subsidize the project.
The council begins discussions tomorrow and final approval is likely next week.
“It is a very, very ugly piece of property that really sits right in the heart of the State Capitol Complex as well as the downtown,” said Houston.
Most of the property has been a parking lot since the Hotel Abraham Lincoln was demolished in 1978.