Springfield could have new $40M water distribution facility, public works facility
Springfield may be getting a new water distribution facility.
The city's Planning and Zoning Commission met on Oct. 16 to discuss a petition for a new water distribution facility for City Water, Light and Power and building for the Public Works department on the east side of Springfield.
The estimated cost of the project is $40 million.
The parcels for 2101 and 2021 Clear Lake Ave. petition for a reclassification of the property to I-1 light industrial for plans to build a new center for the Office of Public Works including a warehouse, municipal offices and garage on a 38-acre lot the city already owns.
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In the parcel, the city of Springfield petitions that the current distribution facility for water does not have appropriate space for daily operations to serve power customers in the area.
Nearly 7 acres of the 38-acre lot would be allotted for the Water Distribution Facility, which will be to the southwest section of the acreage.
CWLP previously planned on building at 401 N. 11 St. but shifted locations due to the 1908 Race Monument becoming designated as a national park service site.
The new distribution facility would be 22,000 square feet with warehouse space near a 30,000-square-foot equipment garage to house snowplows and as a parking lot used by employees of CWLP.
The petitioned new office of Public Works would be 75,560 square feet and will include a wash bay along the north side of the building and have outdoor storage for trailers and equipment used by Public Works, along with other new amenities according to city engineer Nate Bottom.
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“We will have offices in there for street superintendent, 24-7 dispatch and zone managers," Bottom said. "We'll also have the traffic sign making facility, as well as our inventory facility."
Public works says its current office at 301 N. 17th St. is outdated. If Public Works gets its new facility, the current building will be used for storage according to Bottom – who says in the distant future the building will be razed.
The offices will take around a year and a half to build, however a date to start construction has not yet been set in stone according to Bottom, who says city council must first approve the budget hearings for the buildings in January to February of next year. If approved, earliest construction would begin in spring of 2025.
Claire Grant writes about business, growth and development and other news topics for The State Journal-Register. She can be reached at CLGrant@gannett.com; and on X (Formerly known as Twitter): @Claire_Granted
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield could have new $40M water distribution facility
