New construction planned for medical district

A zoning change to nearly two acres of land on North Grand Avenue that was recently approved by the Springfield City Council will allow for construction of an 11,900-square-foot office building in the Mid-Illinois Medical District.

Stough Development Corporation, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, has built plasma centers in 17 states and has projects underway in Lincoln, Nebraska; Jacksonville, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; and Augusta, Georgia, along with three in Illinois. In addition to Springfield, the company is currently building new centers in Champaign and Joliet.

“Due to the working-class population and demographics of Springfield, we felt that it would be ideal to not only be in the medical district but to be an asset to the community and grow the footprint of the medical district onto North Grand,” said Scott Stough, COO of Stough Development Corporation. Stough noted that the property is located in an Enterprise Zone, which provides some tax advantages.

The site is just east of Davita Dialysis, which opened a new clinic at 600 North Grand Ave. in 2018. The nearly 8,500-square-foot building was constructed at a cost of $5.1 million. Charles Salvo, who sold the land to the developer for the Davita project, told SBJ at the time that the new center would be a catalyst for further development on the block. “Davita will be an anchor for the whole street,” said Salvo.

Stough Development Corporation purchased the adjacent land from Salvo and plans to demolish five residential structures and a garage, which Stough described as “aging rental properties.” The parcels were previously zoned R-2 (single-family and duplex residence district), B-2 (general business service district) and OFF (office district). The council agreed to reclassify all of the properties as office district but allow for larger signage. “It will give us great visibility and allow us to have the parking required for the project,” said Stough. “These will be state-of-the-art medical office buildings.”

Stough estimated the cost for construction between $3.5 million and $4 million and said the project will employ local subcontractors. When operational, the clinic will employ 50-60 people, including a doctor, nurses, phlebotomists and support staff. Stough said he anticipates the facility will have a minimum of 150 donors per day.

Stough said he intends for the project to break ground in the spring and be completed by the end of the year.

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