FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The City of Springfield and City Utilities will host an event to kick off the Lake Springfield planning process 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Springfield Art Museum and livestreamed at LakeSGFPlan.com. The event was initially planned to take place on site at the Lake Springfield Boathouse, but the large turnout at a meeting for Lake Springfield-area residents in October necessitated larger accommodations.
The Nov. 17 event is the first in a series of community engagement opportunities to
outline the community’s vision for the Lake Springfield area, which was identified as a redevelopment opportunity area during the City’s Forward SGF comprehensive planning process.
Residents, neighbors, business owners, developers, schools, parks, non-profit agencies and more will collectively take part in identifying the areas of opportunity and concern in the area. The community engagement process will help the Lake Springfield planning team zero in on a list of specific goals for the project.
The plan, projected to be complete by summer 2024, will be a catalyst for new economic development and recreational opportunities. Components will include:
- recreational expansion opportunities
- adaptive reuse planning for the decommissioned power station
- hydrological studies
- water quality and ecological preservation planning
- economic development and workforce development opportunities
- transportation, access and wayfinding
- land use recommendations.
“The stage is set to create a truly innovative vision for Lake Springfield with water as the key element,” said Senior Planner Oliva Hough, who is managing the project. “One of the main goals for this project is to improve access to this local water amenity while enhancing the natural environment. With CMT and the team Steve Prange has assembled, we now have top-notch experts in place and are ready to begin planning what Lake Springfield could be.”
After a competitive procurement process, the City of Springfield and City Utilities selected engineering and consulting firm Crawford, Murphy & Tilly as the consultant for the Lake Springfield Plan.
“We are excited and proud to be part of this once-in-a-generation opportunity to work with our community leaders and agency partners to reimagine where the vision of Lake Springfield intersects with nature, recreation and economic development,” said Prange, vice president of business development and strategy director for CMT. “We realized early on that we were going to need a very unique team for this project. We assembled a diverse team of planners, engineers, architects, environmental scientists, economists and recreation specialists that will provide a blend of local and national expertise to reimagine the potential for Lake Springfield.”
Background
Through an $800,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), and $200,000 from the Hatch Foundation, City Utilities of Springfield and the City of Springfield’s Environmental Services Department is funding the development of a master plan for the area, including and surrounding the former coal-powered plant (James River Power Station). Redevelopment will complement Lake Springfield Park and Boathouse, which are jointly operated by CU and the Springfield-Greene County Park Board.
Visit lakesgfplan.com/ for updates and how you can get involved.
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For more information, please contact Cora Scott at 417-380-3352.