If you want to know what's really going on in Springfield you have to read the Business Journal. Business and political leaders are a little more clear about their plans for the future in the Business Journal than they are in other media outlets. One example is an editorial by Mayor Mike Houston titled "Retail Revolution good for Springfield" in their July 2011 issue.
He begins by referencing White Oaks Mall, which had opened shortly before Houston's first term as mayor in 1979, and how the resulting development on the southwest end moved the city's retail center away from downtown. He states that "a similar sort of retail revolution is about to take place" around Scheels along the MacArthur Extension.
Houston argues that this will benefit the entire city, and not just one geographic area, because "a rising tide floats all ships. This larger economic base will be a great asset as we continue to market our community to other potential retailers."
This claim, that sprawl on the edge of town won't detract from the city center, is an article of faith among Springfield's business and political establishment. Everyone is expected to believe that new development on the MacArthur extension won't detract from downtown, won't create vacant stores on the Southwest end, and will even bring new businesses to older sections of MacArthur Blvd.
Since Houston is making the comparison to White Oaks Mall, it's fair to reflect on what happened during that phrase of sprawl.
Did sprawl on the southwest end lift downtown or did it help empty out downtown retail activity? Did central neighborhoods deteriorate as newer houses were built on the southwest end? Did the city center suffer from neglect as limited resources were spent to build new infrastructure on the edge of town?
Any fair minded observer would have to admit that the last hiccup of commercial sprawl most certainly did not lift all ships. What we have on the southwest end is ugly, poorly planned sprawl with the city's most accident-prone intersections and stores that are inaccessible to pedestrians and bicyclists. At the same time, downtown and central neighborhoods suffered as businesses abandoned a sinking ship. Most other cities have had the same experience.
So, will Springfield do anything differently this time? Can we keep doing the same thing and expect a different result?
Groups like the central neighborhood associations, the MacArthur Blvd Association, and Downtown Springfield Inc should reexamine the "rising tide floats all boats" theory. The sprawl agenda being pushed by the Chamber and Q5 may not be in their best interests.