Unmatched coverage
The Springfield News-Sun provides complete coverage of development near the Upper Valley Mall, including recent stories on Rural King in the former Kmart building and Hobby Lobby’s move to Bechtle Avenue.
A local auto and recreational vehicle dealership could expand into a vacant shopping center on Upper Valley Pike in Springfield, if approved by a city zoning board.
Tom’s Toys, Inc., 925 Upper Valley Pike, has applied to the Springfield Board of Zoning Appeals for a conditional use permit to convert the vacant shopping center across the street into a dealership lot for recreational vehicles. The application will be heard at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the City Hall Forum, 76 E. High St.
City staff has recommended approval of the proposal at 1030 Upper Valley Pike, said Springfield Planning Zoning and Code Administrator Stephen Thompson.
“It’ll be an improvement,” Thompson said.
The expansion will help free space at the current location, which opened in 2013, Owens said. The business sells RVs, trucks, boats and all-terrain vehicles.
“We’re virtually dead out of space,” owner Tom Owens said.
The business was forced to temporarily close in 2014 due to zoning issues at its Springfield Twp. location at the former Par 3 golf course. The dealership later reopened after coming to a compromise with trustees.
The shopping center has been empty since last spring, he said. If approved, the new lot would be open in a few months, he said.
“People are just leaving trailers and semitrailers, parking all over the place doing whatever they want to do,” Owens said.
The dealership will lease the building, but could purchase it in the future, Owens said.
In other zoning news:
• The Springfield City School District and local architect Craig Dillon are asking for a variance for 10 digital signs at various school locations throughout the city. The signs will replace those at current school locations, Thompson said.
“We’ve had a lot of phone calls, but no complaints,” Thompson said.
The new digital signs will display messages with school news similar to the sign at Springfield High School, Thompson said.
“They’ll be able to give information to parents much more easily,” Thompson said.
About the Author