Overview
The Grant Avenue Parkway will create an off-street pedestrian and bicycle pathway along Grant Avenue between Sunshine Street and College Street, in the heart of Springfield. The 3-mile stretch will connect downtown Springfield with the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium (WOW) – linking authentic Springfield experiences for both residents and visitors. The Parkway route will further connect parks and recreation amenities, neighborhoods, schools, and fill a vital gap in the Ozark Greenways trail network.
The Parkway will start Downtown and end at Sunshine Street, including bike and pedestrian friendly facilities, various traffic-calming improvements, bridge enhancements, utility upgrades, fiber connectivity and additional crossing and intersection improvements.
WOW was voted America’s Best Aquarium and Best New Attraction by USA Today readers. Since opening in September 2017, the estimated $300 million private investment has resulted in significantly increased hotel nights and generated hundreds of thousands of visitors. Downtown Springfield’s renaissance has been slow but steady over the past 20 years. Over one-half billion dollars of public and private investment has been made downtown since 1996. These two destinations generate a tremendous amount of economic activity and are authentic Springfield experiences for both residents and visitors. This project will also alleviate traffic congestion, improve safety and accessibility and reduce environmental concerns.
The City’s Public Works and Planning Departments convened a multi-departmental, multi-agency team to prepare the grant proposal, submitted first in 2018 and again in 2019.
Upcoming Meetings & Events
City Council approved the GAP Redevelopment Plan on Nov. 28
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Funding
- Grant Award: $20,960,822
- $5 million local match
The City will receive $20,960,822 to create the Grant Avenue Parkway and is required to provide a 20% local match, roughly $5 million. The project team anticipates the potential for public-private partnerships to aid in making this project truly transformational.
News
Nordic Landing Development Breaks Ground as Housing Cornerstone for Grant Avenue Parkway
SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI – A long-declining area along the promising Grant Avenue Parkway corridor will be converted to sustainable, high-quality affordable housing through a public-private collaborative partnership that will play a key role in enhancing quality of place in downtown Springfield.
Officials with the City of Springfield, Flourish Community Development Corporation and DHTC Development, LLC broke ground March 27, 2023 on the Nordic Landing apartment development, on Catalpa just west of Grant Avenue. Nordic Landing is a transformative example of the most successful and impactful public private partnerships. It will establish a $9 million housing development adjacent to the $21 million Grant Avenue corridor infrastructure project. The project is financed through an allocation of federal and state housing tax credits, a conventional loan from Great Southern Bank and a HOME funds loan by the City of Springfield. This multi-family development will offer both 1- and 2-bedroom designs and will offer mixed income housing built to high quality, sustainable standards for the many people who will call Nordic Landing home.
Images from the Route
