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Springfield sets new DDA into motion
0316 Springfield DDA map

Springfield City Council has created a downtown development authority and made its first appointments to the new board.

The city has worked for months on creating on the DDA, and City Manager Brett Bennett hopes it kick-starts investment in Springfield’s downtown.

“Our desire is for the DDA to move from project to project, building to building, working out deals to make improvements, recruit new business and not have the restrictions that are placed on government,” he said. “In other places, it has started a snowball effect in property improvements downtown.”

Council members chose Steve Shealy to be their representative on the board. The other members, who have staggered terms of two to six years, are Rick Rafter, Mitchell Weitman, Van Hunter, David Scott, Lonnie Pate and Dee Bankston.

“We’ve got some solid people on there,” Mayor Barton Alderman said of the DDA. “We have some progressive people. They are knowledgeable and experienced.”

City council also chose the boundaries for the downtown development authority, taking the limits to the Highway 21 bypass.

The creation of the DDA is anticipated to spur growth in Springfield’s downtown.

“I think it’s great,” Alderman said. “I see some great things happening. I think we can make some great strides downtown.”

The DDA also will give the city the capability to bring a business into the old Walt’s Furniture building.

“The city cannot just sell an asset to a specific person,” Bennett said. “We have to put it out for public bid and take the highest bidder. The DDA can negotiate with a specific person or people and work out a deal to sell or lease a building. The city would have to deed the property to the DDA so they can do this. They can then use those funds on the next project.”

Council members chose Steve Shealy to be their representative on the board. The other members, who have staggered terms of two to six years, are Rick Rafter, Mitchell Weitman, Van Hunter, David Scott, Lonnie Pate and Dee Bankston.

The members of the DDA can be any resident of Springfield or someone who operates or owns a business in the downtown development area and is an Effingham resident.

The city is extending its streetscape project down Laurel Street to the Madison Street intersection, an initiative designed to enhance Laurel’s appeal.

“I would like to see the streetscape go all the way down to the judicial complex,” Alderman said, “but we need to apply for grants and work our way down.”

The goal, Alderman added, is to make downtown more viable and add more restaurants and businesses. The city wants to capture the daytime traffic on Laurel Street.

“Our goal is to get them to stop and patronize our businesses,” Alderman said. “We’re getting more of a night life with the Mars. We just need our businesses to stay open later. We’ve got a lot of businesses at one end of Laurel Street. We’re hoping we can get a lot more businesses to the other end of Laurel Street.”

Alderman said the council was worried it might be too difficult to create and enact a DDA. City attorney Ben Perkins discovered that state lawmakers allowed cities to set up downtown development authorities through ordinances, rather than asking the state to pass constitutional amendments.

Springfield has addressed some aesthetic concerns with the streetscape project. The city is trying to get the streetscape project to run from 2nd Street to Madison Street on Laurel Street, and Alderman said he would like to see the streetscape extended to the Effingham Judicial Complex. The city, though, will need to apply for grants and work its way down Laurel.

Alderman added the city needs to encourage businesses to capture the market that visits Springfield daily and encourage more people to visit Springfield and patronize those businesses.

“We’d like to more businesses and restaurants, just a viable downtown,” he said. “There are 200 to 300 cars that pass by every day. Our goal is to get them to stop and patronize our businesses. We’re getting more of a night life with the Mars. We just need our businesses to stay open later.”