JOPLIN, Mo. —
Some big players have come to Joplin’s table for discussions on who will oversee tornado redevelopment.
The six applicants for master developer include one large concern from as far away as Marlton, N.J., and four as close as Arkansas, Texas, Kansas City and Springfield.
“I think we have received some good applications from some large firms that have experience in large developments and also mixed-use developments, which includes housing. But we haven’t had an opportunity to vet them yet,” said Troy Bolander, Joplin’s city planner. The deadline for prospects to submit an application was Tuesday.
City leaders are looking for a specialist to oversee redevelopment in the city’s six-mile-long tornado zone, where an EF-5, multivortex storm damaged or destroyed about 7,500 homes and apartments and affected more than 500 businesses. The master developer will spearhead work on a plan for housing, neighborhoods, business development and education assembled from public input gathered by the Citizens Advisory Recovery Team.
Applicants are The Michaels Organization, Marlton, N.J.; Wallace Bajjali Development Partners, Sugar Land, Texas; Crossbridge Development, Heber Springs, Ark.; Zimmer Companies Inc. and J. Start/CBC Real Estate Group, both of Kansas City; and Lathrop & Gage, Springfield.
The Michaels Organization is one of the largest housing developers in the nation, advertising itself as the largest developer of “affordable housing.” According to its website, the firm has overseen the creation of more than $2.5 billion worth of housing throughout the United States since 1973. The company arranges for the construction of new housing, apartments, townhouses and other types of residential properties, and buys and operates tax-credit properties. The company has regional offices in about 20 cities across the nation, including Kansas City and Tulsa, Okla.
Wallace Bajjali Development Partners is a private real estate and investing firm that develops commercial and residential property, including student and senior housing. It currently is directing a $113 million project in Amarillo, Texas, to build a sports stadium, convention hotel and parking garage as part of a downtown redevelopment project.
Zimmer Companies Inc. is a 60-year-old company that has developed commercial buildings, business parks, and mixed-use residential and commercial districts, particularly in metro Kansas City and St. Louis. Its projects include Village West in Kansas City, Kan., a shopping, entertainment and lodging district surrounding a NASCAR track and anchored by stores such as Nebraska Furniture Mart and Cabela’s. The company also developed Beacon Hill, a Kansas City, Mo., mixed-use neighborhood on 90 acres near Crown Center and Union Station.
J. Start/CBC Real Estate Group has developed and overseen construction of buildings for a number of clients including Applebee’s restaurants, Hallmark Cards, Kansas Speedway Corp., U.S. Bank, the University of Missouri, the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Lathrop & Gage is a law firm with offices in Kansas City and Springfield that advises and offers consultation on real estate and construction contracts. The Springfield firm is representing Sisters of Mercy Health System in the construction of its new hospital at Interstate 44 and Hearnes Boulevard in Joplin.
Crossbridge Development is operated by developer Henry Miller, who has spun off a firm that developed low-income housing in Clayton, Mo. He said he has built 3,000 units of housing and would use a concept called Debris Field Accelerated Recovery to build housing in a 25-block area of the tornado zone in Joplin.
Bolander said the companies will be researched and their projects reviewed over the next few weeks by representatives of the city, the advisory team and the Joplin Redevelopment Corp.
“We have to negotiate with the applicants to come to terms of agreement on the contract,” Bolander said. “We’re hoping to have a recommendation to take to the City Council in March.”
Federal funds
PART OF THE WORK of the master developer will be to help devise a plan for the use of $45 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funds for redevelopment projects, according to City Manager Mark Rohr.
May 2011 Joplin tornado
Several large firms in mix for master developer job
- May 2011 Joplin tornado
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Cupcake comeback: Joplin woman ‘still fighting tornado’
The tornado a year ago took her home, her cars and her business, but not her spirit. In true-grit fashion, Liz Easton decided early on to fight back. She was not going to let the tornado get the best of her.
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SLIDESHOW: One year later, One day of unity, updated
Photos from a day of events commemorating the May 22, 2011 tornado anniversary
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Volunteers from Tuscaloosa paying it forward in Joplin
As the teens moved farther along the bleachers they were painting, splotches of bright red paint kept appearing where it didn’t exactly belong. On the ground. On their arms and legs. On their clothing.
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Missouri National Guard releases records involving soldiers who looted from Wal-Mart
The Missouri National Guard has released records confirming that four soldiers were disciplined for taking merchandise from the ruins of a Wal-Mart store in Joplin one day after the tornado that devastated the city a year ago.
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Joplin school board awards contract to complete demolition of JHS
The Joplin Board of Education on Tuesday night accepted a bid for finishing tornado-related demolition at the high school.
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Tornado victim’s recovery ‘miraculous’
Carolyn Mckinlay did not know much about baseball, but she knew it was important to watch the sixth game of last year’s World Series. It was important because her future husband, Mark Lindquist, had a ticket to see his beloved Cardinals take on the Texas Rangers in the seventh game at St. Louis.
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Master developer working on project possibilities
A Texas developer who Joplin officials intend to hire to help with the city’s post-tornado development says he has secured commitments for about $400 million in capital to fund about 20 possible projects.
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Joplin summer school starts next week
Students in the Joplin School District will have had only two weeks between the close of the school year and the start of summer school. Summer classes will be held weekdays from June 4 through June 29.
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Exemption cloaks Guard involvement in tornado looting
Members of the Missouri National Guard were disciplined for looting in Joplin after the massive tornado last year, but the Guard refuses to release information about the incidents, citing an exemption from Missouri’s open records law.
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Nixa contractor accused of stealing from tornado victims
A federal grand jury has indicted a contractor from Nixa in connection with the theft of more than $73,000 from an elderly Joplin couple who hired him to repair their tornado-damaged home.
- More May 2011 Joplin tornado Headlines
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