After months of delays, construction at Fairhills Starbucks to resume

Coffee lovers could be closer to getting their morning jolt at a new Starbucks under construction in the Fairhills Mall parking lot now that a permit dispute has been resolved.

Springfield Public Works Director Dave Fuchs said that the city managed to clear things up with the contractor working on the project, a St. Louis-based firm called Innovative Construction, after the company attempted to use an electrician that didn't have the proper International Code Council certification, as required by city ordinance.

Fuchs said that the contractor notified Fuchs Tuesday that the electrician had completed the course required to get ICC certification and allowed them to begin trench and conduit work on some exterior lighting.

The certification issue pushed back completion of the project which, until recently, had been making steady progress at 1971 West Monroe Street. Work began last fall.

Tim Higham, a district manager for Starbucks who helps run the Springfield locations, said the company ran into complications with finishing the project – namely, disputes with the property owners, a Los Angeles-based limited-liability corporation. But despite the complications, he remained hopeful the company could open the store by October.

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Fuchs clarified that the LLC was responsible for building the exterior, with contractors and Starbucks tasked with finishing the inside of the building. He pointed out that the Starbucks dispute with the LLC wasn't the reason for the hold-up; rather, it was the electrician's insistence that he had the proper ICC certification when he actually didn't.

"By city ordinance, if you're going to work on a permit job in the city of Springfield, you have to be certified by the ICC as an electrician," Fuchs said. "Apparently, the fellow that works for (Innovative Construction) said, 'Oh yeah, I've got that.' Time went on and all you have to do is show us the certification that you're bonded, that you have insurance and we can allow you to go ahead and work. He wasn't able to do that. He said he had it and he couldn't prove it."

The contractor had two options: find an electrician in Springfield or look to get his electrician the ICC certification. No one in Springfield was willing to work on the project, so the contractor got the electrician to take the test and pass it to get work underway again.

"His certification will be coming to us as soon as he gets the final paperwork," Fuchs said.

But frustration is mounting, particularly amongst leaders in the area like Ward 9 Alderman Jim Donelan, who is looking for the pace of construction to pick up.

"We're, of course, at their mercy," Donelan said. "We'd like to see things moving along (but) it seems like there's been a little more progress in the last week. Quite frankly, I'd like to know when they plan on wrapping it up because it's always better when you have a completed project."

The area along Monroe and Washington streets and Chatham Road is already home to several coffee shops and chains, from the current Starbucks to Dunkin' to a new Grab-a-Java that opened last year.

"It's an interesting area," Donelan said. "You're going to have Grab-a-Java, Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks and some of the gas stations that offer coffee options. It's like a coffee hub of Springfield."

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People within the ward are concerned with safety issues with the current Starbucks that sits above the street on Monroe, according to Donelan. Many people have complained about traffic backing up some mornings along the busy throughway and even blocking fire trucks from a Springfield Fire Department station next door.

"People have always been commenting about how traffic backs up on Monroe, how unsafe it is, and (how) at times it can interfere with the fire traffic," Donelan said. "There's a lot of things going on in that area."

For those drinking at the Starbucks, going to a new store might be an adjustment but easier.

Aurelia Newcomb, a junior at Sacred Heart-Griffin High School who was tutoring there Thursday, said she sometimes has to walk to the current location but won't have to risk a busy Chatham Road with the new store being built in an ample parking lot.

While she enjoys going to Starbucks for the tutoring – with enough space for her and her tutee to work – she recognizes the lack of parking space.

"My mom, when she tries to pick me up, says she has to be in another parking lot," Newcomb said. "Not this one."

Safety is top of mind for Fuchs and Public Works. As for the certification flap, Fuchs said the department is just trying to make sure everyone works from the same set of rules.

"Part of the reason why we have such low fire insurance rates is because we enforce this kind of stuff."

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Fairhills Starbucks back on track after permit dispute is resolved