Another Potential "Win" For Springfield

News of the potential for an insurance services company locating in the Credit Life or Bushnell Building downtown can’t be understated. I feel confident it will happen. This is the kind of development that every city in the country seeks so the news that Insurance Claims Management of Eau Claire, Wisc. is “strongly considering” downtown Springfield as a location for “hundreds” of jobs is exciting to say the least for a number of reasons. One is obvious. Putting that many workers concentrated downtown is sure to spur other development. It also establishes us as a player in the insurance industry with Assurant Specialty Services, another insurance services provider, being the largest single-site employer in the county. We can continue to build on that segment of the market. With the downtown Ohio Valley Medical Center open, creating more than 100 jobs, the Springfield Regional Medical Center under construction downtown, the Center City Park expected to be completed next summer, a downtown ice arena to be built, the Buck Creek navigability project underway and Clark State’s recently announcing plans to build a $5.8 million Creative Arts and Conference Center, I wonder if any city our size or larger has this amount of activity taking place and doing it in tough economic times. Have a great Chamber day!