City, county and state elected officials are offering bipartisan support for a bill in the Statehouse that would help facilitate an expansion of the BOS Center in downtown Springfield, along with construction of a new hotel. The bill would also create a new governing board to promote business development and tourism in Springfield and Sangamon County.
Elected officials said Senate Bill 3499, introduced by state Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, would grant mechanisms for a nearly $200 million expansion of the BOS Center and construction of a new hotel just south of the city-owned convention center where the Sangamon County Complex parking lot currently sits.
If the bill becomes law, a new governing body dubbed the Capital Area Tourism Authority would be created to be responsible for developing and owning the new hotel. The authority’s board would consist of five members, with three members appointed by the Sangamon County Board, one member appointed by the Springfield City Council and one member appointed by the Springfield Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority.
At a March 31 press conference held at the BOS Center, Turner emphasized that the project, which is contingent on her bill passing the Senate and House, would add no new taxes to local residents.
“The goal is to provide economic tools that will finance and fund the development of a new full-service hotel and the expansion of the Bank of Springfield Center,” Turner said. “Without a doubt, this is true economic development that will bring jobs and tourism dollars to downtown without Springfield residents having to pay any new taxes.”
Sangamon County Board Chair Andy Van Meter said that Turner “has packed this bill with a number of levers for revenue: the building (of) the hotel itself, revenue from a potential additional hotel/motel tax, revenue from the incremental sales tax that will be generated by the hotel and expanded convention center.”
“This project is not an overnight sensation,” Turner said. “We have been working on this in a very deliberate and methodical manner for several years.”
Last year, the county, city and Springfield Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority (SMEAA) fielded proposals for bidders to fulfill those plans. It’s unclear if another request for proposals will be posted or if elected officials have identified companies that can fulfill their requests.
Related
A plan to save downtown
Van Meter acknowledged behind-the-scenes support from Gov. JB Pritzker over the years.
“Thank you to the governor who, through every conversation over the past four years, has said, ‘Look, I want to be supportive of this,’” he said.
The bill, in Van Meter’s words, is “incredibly creative” and “assures us that there is adequate money here to get the job done – and (Turner) also crafted a program that has assured us that we will not be raising taxes on local citizens of our community. This will be paid for by the people who use these facilities.”
He added that expanding the city’s major convention site to allow for more events, including potentially simultaneous conferences, is key to generating more revenue for the county and city.
“We need to focus and become a convention-oriented community that will bring more revenue into our community,” Van Meter said.
SMEAA Chair and state Rep. Mike Coffey, R-Springfield, praised the utilization of Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) bonds as community reinvestment tool. It’s a funding mechanism the Pritzker administration has been pushing across the state for communities to encourage economic growth.
“I want to thank the governor’s office for reinvesting tax dollars back into the capital city. This is exactly the kind of partnership we need, recognizing that when Springfield succeeds, Illinois succeeds,” Coffey said. “The highlight of this is the fact that we have four bodies of government: the state, the county, the city and SMEA all working together across party lines to make life better for our constituents.”
Mayor Misty Buscher likened the idea to the ongoing construction for the new Sangamon County Transportation Hub. She also said the idea of revitalizing downtown isn’t a problem solely facing Springfield.
“That is a project of collaboration of four units of government; (the Hub) was federal, state, county and city. This is going to be your next project that’s going to have collaboration of four units of government,” she said. “Our downtown has changed, but our downtown is not unique or different. This is happening all across our country because working from home has become so prevalent. It is time for a new focus for downtown – it is time to combine work, living and entertainment in one space. That is what this project does, it creates a vibrant space for entertainment.”
Buscher also mentioned her support for Senate Bill 3436, also introduced by Turner, that would create a new zone for the city of Springfield to designate areas of redevelopment where developers could access grants from a state fund in addition to construction job tax credits, sales tax breaks and other tax deductions.
“It is important that we repurpose old buildings for that living part of our new downtown – work, livability, and entertainment,” Buscher said Senate Bill 3436 would “help with revitalizing those old buildings.”
Jay Shanle, the newly appointed executive director of Downtown Springfield, Inc., endorsed the expansion of the convention center and construction of a new hotel.
“Oftentimes Springfield is thought of as a government town, but we do realize and appreciate that tourism is such a vital economic driver for not just downtown, but our city,” Shanle said.
Monica Zanetti, owner of Wild Rose Artisans Gallery & Boutique downtown, said Springfield will benefit from the expansion.
“We just need to expand, and this is a wonderful step. I cannot tell you how amazing this is going to be for the downtown,” said Zanetti, who is also on the Springfield Cultural Arts Foundation. “We can’t wait to see people walking around, bigger conventions.”
Coffey added that a city-owned hotel and convention center will generate significant revenue.
“If we look at the Wyndham and we look down the street at the boarded-up buildings, I think as a group we decided that having the Authority own the hotel and the convention center, what that’s going to do, that is government spending money so that then the private sector will then fill these up,” he said.
Both Senate Bill 3499 and 3436 will be heard in a Senate Revenue committee hearing on April 2.
A third bill, Senate Bill 2829, which would expand the powers of the Mid-Illinois Medical District and is also part of what Turner called “the downtown reinvestment package,” is awaiting assignment.
