By the numbers:
$1.1 million: Cost of renovations at ALDI and new IHOP on Bechtle Avenue
4,575: Square footage of the new IHOP restaurant, 2206 Bechtle Ave.
11,400: Square footage of ALDI store after expansion is complete
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The Springfield News Sun reports on important news that affects jobs and the economy in Clark and Champaign counties, including recent expansions at local businesses Speedway and Navistar.
Unmatched coverage
The Springfield News Sun reports on important news that affects jobs and the economy in Clark and Champaign counties, including recent expansions at local businesses Speedway and Navistar.
More than $1.1 million in renovations and new construction are slated for Bechtle Avenue, a stretch of roadway that has seen an additional $3 million in business developments in recent months.
The spur of development is a sign companies want to invest in Springfield, local leaders said, and another indication of the improving economy.
The Springfield ALDI grocery, 2091 N. Bechtle Ave., is in the middle of a 2,500-square-foot expansion at its current site. The $850,000 project also includes renovations to the entire store, said Sarah Brown, Springfield division vice president for the grocery chain.
A building permit also has been approved for an IHOP restaurant just up the road, said Stephen Thompson, Springfield's planning, zoning and code enforcement administrator.
These two additions come on the heels of more than $2.9 million that’s been spent on new retail stores on Bechtle Avenue in the past six months.
The ALDI project will include more shopping space, Brown said, plus upgrades to the interior of the store.
“The remodeled store will offer shoppers a modern and convenient shopping environment,” she said.
The overhauled store will offer more than 11,400 square feet of shopping space and will have energy-saving upgrades, such as more efficient refrigerators and LED lighting.
Clayton Fugate of Springfield said he does 99 percent of his shopping at ALDI.
“It was a little small in there,” Fugate said of the old store.
The grocery is open now for business during construction, Brown said, but it will close for the remodel beginning July 24 until an unknown date later in the summer.
“We look forward to continuing to bring the community high quality groceries at everyday low prices,” she said.
ALDI announced plans in 2013 to open 650 new stores in the U.S. by 2018, making it the biggest discount grocer in the country. The company currently operates nearly 1,500 stores in 32 states, according to its website.
IHOP, the national breakfast chain also known as the International House of Pancakes, is moving forward with its plans to build a new restaurant at 2206 Bechtle Ave., near the newly opened Hobby Lobby.
“We’re happy to see continued development of that corridor,” Springfield Assistant City Manager and Director of Economic Development Tom Franzen said.
A permit for the restaurant was recently approved. The nearly $400,000 construction project includes a new, 4,575-square-foot building.
Construction equipment is on the site, but representatives for the developer didn’t return calls about a possible opening date for the restaurant.
Business in the Bechtle Avenue shopping corridor is booming, Chamber of Greater Springfield Vice President Horton Hobbs said.
“The expansion of ALDI and the addition of IHOP will bring that area to near capacity,” he said.
At least two other lots to the north of IHOP, around the St. Paris Connector, are available for development.
It’s the latest in a string of developments on Bechtle Avenue. Hobby Lobby spent about $2.1 million to construct a new 55,000-square-foot location on North Bechtle Avenue, while Dollar Tree also built a $658,000 location in one of the outlots in front of the Hobby Lobby development.
Kay Jewelers recently opened a new $163,000 location inside the Bechtle Crossing shopping center at 1654 N. Bechtle Ave.
A new Dick's Sporting Goods will be built later this year on the site of the former Dollar Tree and Ashley Furniture stores.
Some Springfield shoppers like Linda Liming said the construction is good but noted that other shopping districts in the county remain empty.
“It’s too bad about the Upper Valley Mall, but Bechtle Avenue is booming,” she said.
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