Jefferson City Chamber details SOMO proposal

Developers offer site at 54, 179; board's decision not expected until January

Jefferson City representatives have unveiled their final proposal to Special Olympics Missouri, hoping to bring the organization to a donated site near U.S. 54 and Missouri 179.

Officials of the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce made a final presentation to the Special Olympics Missouri, or SOMO, board of directors last week, detailing a 15.5-acre land donation to the organization for the project. The land donation comes from Land Investments, run by Kirk Farmer, Mike Dunn and Frank Twehous.

In September, SOMO issued a request for proposals from Jefferson City and Columbia for a site for the planned Training for Life Campus, which would also include SOMO headquarters. The request was issued after the chamber and parks staff began working on a proposal that sought to combine the project with the commission's planned multipurpose building. The chamber's proposal also included using 15 acres of land owned by the Jefferson City Public Schools and using lodging tax funds previously earmarked for a conference center.

But in mid-October, chamber officials announced they would not propose the collaborative project to SOMO because of a lack of support from the Jefferson City Council and the Parks and Recreation Commission. Instead, a plan was proposed that revolved around an unnamed developer who had offered to donate several acres for the Training for Life Campus, with neither the site owner nor site location being identified at the time.

Bob Gilbert, board chairman at the chamber, said Land Investments agreed to donate the property to SOMO, which would then be used as an anchor to spur further commercial development on adjacent land.

"It's a very generous offer by the Farmers," Gilbert said. "This is a very expensive piece of property to be giving away ... that's what attracts SOMO to this."

Farmer said the company decided to donate the property after reading about the chamber's efforts to keep SOMO in Jefferson City through a collaboration with the Parks and Recreation Commission. After learning about the commission's efforts to collaborate with Lincoln University on a multipurpose building, Farmer said the proposal began to look too complicated to keep SOMO.

"There's a lot of people here in Jefferson City that realize the value of what Special Olympics brings to our community," Farmer said. "We've got good property and the ability to offer it to them."

Farmer said if the campus and headquarters go on the property, the company will try to re-purpose adjacent properties for commercial development similar to what they've done at the Kohl's and Menard's locations.

Previously, chamber officials indicated they believe Columbia's response to SOMO likely will include some form of partnership with their Parks and Recreation Department's plan for a multipurpose space at Phillips Park, just south of the Route AC interchange with U.S. 63.

But Gilbert said the chamber's only knowledge of Columbia's proposal is from media reports. He said he believes Jefferson City's proposal is very competitive and hopes it will sway the SOMO board to stay in Jefferson City.

Before SOMO issued the request for proposals, they purchased 11 acres off Bonne Femme Church Road, west of U.S. 63, in 2008 for $575,000 and planned for the campus to locate on that site. In January, it was announced the organization was considering moving the site to the Central Missouri Events Center, where the Boone County Fair is held, but no public discussion about that proposal has been held in several months.

The organization received state tax credits to use as a fundraising incentive, and those credits may not transfer to a new site in Jefferson City.

Gilbert said one asset to Jefferson City's proposal is how much the community cares about keeping SOMO in the city. He said many community leaders attended the most recent presentation to show their support of the project, which could help tip the scales for Jefferson City as SOMO is incredibly reliant on volunteers.

"It's not just dollars and donations; it's volunteers," Gilbert said. "The state games that were recently held here had over 200 volunteers from our community that helped. I think that says something to SOMO."

Missy Bonnot, economic development director at the chamber, noted the project's importance in terms of economic development and said more than 100 Jefferson City businesses emailed support for the project, which was forwarded to SOMO board members.

SOMO headquarters, currently located in Jefferson City, employs 25 people, and the addition of the campus would bring that up to 34 people.

"That's well over $1 million in payroll," Gilbert said. "Some might not think that this is an economic development project, but it is."

Plus, he said the campus will bring more visitors to the community, projecting "2,000 (hotel) room nights per year."

The Jefferson City Council even approved a request from Randy Allen, president and CEO of the chamber, to fund the $300,000 cost of extending sewer service to the site, located at 2229 Christy Drive, in a closed session Oct. 20. The sewer extension would only be funded if SOMO selects Jefferson City's site.

Bonnot said one of the site's advantages is its visibility to those traveling through the area on U.S. 54 or Missouri 179. Gilbert said the average traffic on U.S. 54 and Missouri 179 is 24,000 to 25,000 cars per day, plus thousands more during holidays and summer vacations.

"Visibility's very important to them," Gilbert said.

But a final decision is not expected any time soon.

"They've already indicated to us that their decision's going to be kind of slow," Gilbert said. "They want to probably decide in January."

What is the Training for Life Campus?

According to the Special Olympics Missouri website, the Training for Life Campus will feature:

• A 44,000-square-foot center with year-round training opportunities

• A 16,000-square-foot sports facility, featuring basketball and volleyball

• A sports leadership training center hall of heroes

• A health and fitness center with cardiovascular and weight training

• Courts for seasonal play and fields to support 21 sports

• Programs including camps

• A lifetime wellness program to provide on-site dental health, physical examinations, and vision and hearing screenings

• Coach and volunteer training

• Screening and intervention services for children as young as 3 years old

• Will be the first of its kind in the United States

Special Olympics Missouri headquarters, currently in Jefferson City, would move to the campus.