A distribution center employing 150 to 200 full-time workers at a warehouse the size of almost four football fields would be built along Interstate 55 near the Chatham exit, based on a proposal Springfield zoning officials will consider June 20.
Local economic development officials told Illinois Times they don’t yet know who would operate the site, which, based on industry estimates, could cost between $30 million and $51 million to build.
But several sources who were not at liberty to speak on the record confirmed the end user would be Frito-Lay, the Texas-based maker of snack foods such as Lay’s Potato Chips, Doritos and Cheetos. A Frito-Lay spokesperson declined comment when reached by phone May 28.
A key Springfield official who has been working with intermediaries for the end user said the project is likely to happen and could lead to more interest in Springfield as a regional hub for the distribution and logistics industry.
“We don’t celebrate until we see a shovel in the ground,” said Ryan McCrady, president and chief executive officer of the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance. But he said, “This project is highly probable to move forward.
“This is a huge breakthrough for our community,” he said. “This is something everybody should be excited about.”
John Kovski, a resident of Houston, Texas, filed the May 1 request for variances to restrictions in place since the approximately 30-acre site was first zoned industrial in 1977. Kovski represents Lakeview Acres LLC, owner of the property on Palm Road at the southwest corner of the I-55 Chatham interchange.
Kovski, listed as a manager of Lakeview Acres in Illinois secretary of state business records, couldn’t be reached for comment. Neither could the other listed manager, Thomas Kovski of Anacortes, Washington. The company’s registered agent, Carlinville lawyer Sean Rees, didn’t respond to a phone message and an email from Illinois Times.
Also not responding was Taylor Bass, a development manager at Becknell Industrial, a real estate development firm involved with the zoning request.
John Kovski said in his petition that he wants to sell the property, south of Lake Springfield and near the city’s border with Chatham, to a developer to construct a 226,800-square-foot industrial building with “associated trailer parking, bulk truck parking, car parking, (a) site security fence and landscaping.”
“The intended use of the building is for warehouse and distribution servicing customers in and around the Springfield metropolitan area,” the petition said.
The site would include 12,000 square feet of office space, a 5,180-square-foot fleet garage and an accompanying detention pond, according to the petition.
The building would be 45 feet high, and the fence would be 8 feet tall, with 2 feet of barbed wire on top, the petition said.
Variances are needed because of several factors, including the size of the fence, which would be higher than normally allowed, and to exceed the maximum 35 feet in building height currently allowed, according to the petition.
The site has been used for years as farmland, according to property records.
The staff of the Springfield-Sangamon County Regional Planning Commission reviews zoning requests for the Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission. Molly Berns, executive director of the regional planning commission, said her staff is likely to recommend that the zoning commission approve the request when it meets at 6 p.m. June 20 in city council chambers.
The zoning commission’s recommendation would be forwarded to the Springfield City Council for final consideration at 5:30 p.m. July 16.
The zoning application “does tell me Springfield looks more attractive for places like this. … This is a good trend to have,” Berns said.
McCrady said the SSGA, a nonprofit economic development organization funded by the city of Springfield, Sangamon County and private businesses, has been working for four years to promote the community to site-selection consultants.
“The community had never done a full-scale business attraction program before,” he said.
The alliance, formed six years ago, primarily focuses on retaining existing employers and helping them expand, McCrady said. But the Springfield area’s relatively affordable land, good workforce, higher education and technical education institutions and central location can be attractive to new employers, he said.
“I’ve been telling people we’re out selling the community,” he said. “The community is playing offense.”
Dean Olsen is a senior staff writer at Illinois Times. He can be reached at 217-679-7810, [email protected] or twitter.com/DeanOlsenIT.
