Slowdown Not Stopping Apartments

SPRINGFIELD, MO - Construction of apartment buildings in Springfield may be slowing, but likely won't stop because of the sluggish economy, developers say. Building projects are proceeding, and more are on the drawing board. It may be tough to find money for construction loans, but demand for apartments by college students and people wanting to save for their own homes is steady, TLC properties spokesman Jacob Harvey said.

The big constraint is finding banks that will lend for construction projects, Harvey said. "I think everybody is feeling that," he said. TLC and the associated Coryell Enterprises are finishing a complex in north Springfield, Harvey said.

The next project is a 136-unit complex in the 3900 block of South Lone Pine Avenue, he said. "Most everything we have going as far as construction was planned in '06, '07, '08," he said. "We funded 600 units in '08."

While TLC is building new units, it also is continuing to work on long-established complexes. The company purchased the Abbey at East Montclair Street and South Delaware Avenue several years ago and followed through on the original developer's plan to enclose a central green with the apartments, he said.

Although it can't be seen by passers-by, the central area encircled by 324 units features a chipping and putting green, tennis courts and other amenities, Harvey said. While the Springfield Apartment and Housing Association represents the owners of around 10,000 units, it does not compile data on occupancy trends, association executive Jean Harmison said.

Those trends are followed by individual owners, she said. Other developers say they're continuing to build, but at a slower pace until the economy rebounds. Developer Howard Bailey is using that strategy at the Villages at Nathanael Greene Park on Scenic Avenue south of Sunshine Street.

Instead of embarking on construction of several buildings to add to a development started in 2008, one building is going up now, he said.

There are hints the recession's effects may be easing, at least in Springfield, Bailey said. "We're starting to see a good upsurge in business," he said. "It's upturned really good in January and February." The upsurge is taking the form of more people signing leases, Bailey said.

There's also evidence of more construction along South Kansas Expressway in the form of the Eko Park development at South Kansas Expressway and West Catalpa Street.

That project, just north of the Kensington Park gated apartment complex, is advertised as an environmentally friendly development. TLC properties, meanwhile, offer an incentive to renters, company representative Harvey said - a 5-percent rebate on multiyear leases tenants can use for expenses incurred when they buy a home.