After the recent closure of downtown’s biggest movie theater and the loss of a well-known restaurateur, Springfield’s urban core has been dealt some blows.
They come on the heels of the pandemic’s aftershocks, which rattled entertainment districts across the U.S. A visitor to downtown’s streets will notice ‘for lease’ signs and vacant buildings dotting the neighborhood.
But many still have plenty of optimism for the future of downtown Springfield, and the area is flush with new businesses and ongoing projects.
“There’s been a lot of change happening in the urban landscape in the almost three years now since the pandemic, and so everyone has been adjusting to those norms,” said Rusty Worley, the executive director of the Downtown Springfield Association.
Regal departure was a ‘long time coming‘
Regal College Station, commonly known as Hollywood Theaters, was the latest downtown business to announce its closure. Jan. 5 was the Springfield Regal’s last day in business, as Cineworld, the company of which Regal is a division, continued closures across the country following its September filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
“We want to thank you for all of your support over the years as your downtown theatre,” Regal College Station said in a Facebook post announcing its closure. “We have loved getting to know you and seeing the smiles on your faces as you experience the thrill of movies over the years.”
The 54,444 square-foot building at 415 W. College St. is owned by local company Tillman Redevelopment LCC.
With Regal’s closure, it leaves the arthouse theater Moxie Cinema, which houses two screens, as the northernmost theater in Springfield. Mike Stevens, the executive director of the Moxie, sees little benefit to Regal’s departure for his business.
“A distributor might be more willing to give us a title since the theater just around the corner is no longer there,” he said, pointing to the distance between downtown and Springfield’s other remaining theaters, Alamo Drafthouse and AMC Springfield 11. “So there’s a small possibility [it will benefit the Moxie.]”
But really, Stevens said, it’s a shame for downtown’s movie scene, where you used to be able to see a wide variety of films.
“It was helpful to have so close in a weird way,” he said.
Stevens partially blamed the pandemic for the challenges facing movie theaters, and attributed the Moxie’s survival to their nonprofit status, along with federal funds and grants.
“It’s no secret that there’s some pretty stiff headwinds that were created by the pandemic,” Stevens said. “And the movie theater business, in particular, found it very challenging to recover quickly, because the industry we’re in is being completely reshaped.
However, he thinks movie theaters can’t entirely blame the pandemic for their struggles in recent years. Prior to 2020, streaming services were already beginning to dominate the industry, and COVID “put that on steroids.”
“It was something a long time coming.”
Worley agreed with Stevens of the Moxie, who is a member of the Downtown Springfield Association.
“Coming out of COVID, where thousands of screens were dark for extended periods of time … and then the changing landscape of entertainment, where there’s many more streaming options, streaming services available today,” Worley said. “It makes entertainment have to up its game and make sure to be competitive with those options.”
Unless Tillman Redevelopment is able to find a new tenant, the former Hollywood Theaters building could join the list of Tillman’s vacant properties — and join the handful of other buildings donning “for lease” signs in downtown Springfield.
Another hit to downtown Springfield
Downtown was dealt another blow recently with the death of Danny Schlink, who owned staples J.O.B Public House and Grad School, and had recently opened the Primetime bar.
Others who work downtown shared differing feelings about the state and the future of the city’s core.
Kierra, a downtown bartender who asked not to be identified further to preserve her relationship with her employer, said the area has struggled to come back from the pandemic, coupled with economic woes and Springfield’s homeless problem. Combined, she thinks they have ultimately driven some people from visiting downtown.
“I remember coming downtown in 2017, and it was insanity always,” she said. “I would definitely say that is still true on the weekend here, but in the summer at least, there used to be pretty much everything, something was going on almost every day. Now it’s really only really like Thursday, Friday or Saturday.”
Closures, empty storefronts don’t paint the full picture of positive changes happening downtown
But Chris Ball, the chairman of the Downtown Springfield Community Improvement District board, is not only bullish on the overall outlook of downtown Springfield, but even specifically in the Hollywood Theaters property.
“The Tillmans are very intelligent developers,” Ball said. “I think when they built that, they planned for flexibility…They may get another theater, they might be something completely different.”
Even so, Ball doesn’t see the closing of Regal as an indicator of the direction of downtown, and pointed out the new businesses opening in the area and that sales tax revenue was way up.
“We have just as many new businesses opening as we do businesses leaving,” Ball said. “The diversity of the businesses that are downtown continues to grow from year to year. Obviously, we’re super sorry to see the theater grow, but I don’t think that in any way reflects poorly on the downtown as a whole.”
For example, the building that formerly housed Hurts Donuts, which recently left its Springfield downtown flagship location for a new storefront at 1231 E Sunshine St, was promptly filled by a new flower shop called Funky Flaura’s.
“When one door closes, another one opens,” said Sean FitzGibbons, the executive director of the History Museum on the Square.
Kori Smalley, the manager at SOAP Refill Station at 210 S. Campbell Ave., is on a stretch of downtown that has a handful of “for lease” signs on empty storefronts. But she said it was less than it was several months ago, and it will keep decreasing as more stores move in.
“Honestly, we have had a lot of the storefronts on our block right here starting to fill up a bit more, especially within the last like two, three months,” Smalley said. “It was vacant for a while and the foot traffic was hit or miss, but now it’s really starting to fill out and there’s some super cool places that are getting ready to open.”
Additionally, O’Reilly Hospitality Management continues its renovation of the building at 430 South Ave. It will become the Moxy (not affiliated with Moxie Cinema), a boutique hotel brand by Marriott.
Downtown Springfield is aflush with ongoing projects
Outside of business ventures, Missouri State University, the city of Springfield and other organizations continue to work on long-term projects in and around downtown Springfield. Included among them is the IDEA Commons urban innovation park and the Renew Jordan Creek and Grant Avenue Parkway projects.
Some of the projects fall under the umbrella of the larger Forward SGF, a comprehensive plan intended to guide Springfield through the next 20 years.
Amanda Ohlensehlen, Springfield’s director of economic vitality, says a key part of that plan will be for the city and businesses to be more prepared for economic shock. Whether it occurs due to a pandemic or otherwise, planning with flexibility and adaptability could help overcome future challenges and absorb any economic downturns that may occur.
Ohlensehlen also noted the importance a strong and vibrant downtown plays in the larger community.
“When you think within the realm of community and economic development, having attractive places where people want to live where they want to work, having a strong downtown economy just gets momentum and support,” she said. “Kind of all activities that spread outward throughout the community.”
FitzGibbons, the history museum director, has been living in Springfield for less than a year. Previously, he worked in other downtowns across the U.S., including San Antonio, and Hamilton, Ohio. While each of those were larger and smaller than Springfield, respectively, he saw similarities in the development of the urban core, and is eager to see the continued development of downtown Springfield.
His wife being from Springfield, he would travel here often for family visits. As a visitor, he got to witness the transformation of downtown Springfield over the years.
“There were a couple bars and restaurants and it was fun,” FitzGibbons reflected on what downtown Springfield used to be like. “We saw some really good live music down here in the mid-aughts…Every year there was just more and more…crowds of people walking around just enjoying what there is to offer down here. That was not the case when I first started coming down and visiting Springfield.”
While FitzGibbons thinks the closure of Regal was an example of the continued after-effects of the pandemic, he sees a bright future for downtown Springfield.
“With all of the investments that the city and some of the downtown movers and shakers are putting into the urban core,” FitzGibbons said. “I think pretty soon we’re gonna see a lot of additional positive changes and I think it’s just going to pick up speed.”
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story misspelled an interviewee’s name.
