Developers are moving forward with plans to bring student housing to downtown Springfield. But it's not clear whether the city council is on board.
The apartment complex would provide 90 students the opportunity to live and work closer to the capitol and the SIU School of Medicine. The complex would cater to SIU and UIS students. The company Bluffstone says it wants to begin construction of the 5-story building immediately, but first needs the Springfield City Council to approve the use of public dollars to help fund the project. The proposal has already been tabled by the city council several times. The company wants about $700,000 in tax increment financing (TIF) dollars.
Larry Quenette is on SDAT, a committee of local architects considering how to bring more housing to the downtown area. He says the city should kick in public funding: "Seems to be that there's something under the table that they're not talking about or not willing to talk about in public. Look we simply want you to make an affirmative vote on this."
Springfield aldermen are slated to discuss the proposal at their meeting on Tuesday.