Thomas Gounley

TGOUNLEY@NEWS-LEADER.COM

Development underway at the former Solo Cup plant on North Glenstone Avenue is part of preparations for a new tenant, according to the city of Springfield's economic development director.

"My understanding is that they have a new tenant who is taking a sizable portion of the building," Mary Lilly Smith said in an interview Tuesday.

The building at 1100 N. Glenstone Ave. — known for the massive Solo Cup facing the street — has been owned by Warren Davis Properties since December 2010; Solo Cup ceased operations at the plant in 2011.

Co-owner Patrick Harrington did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

A search on the city's website shows 21 permits associated with the address since August. Among other things, short descriptions associated with the permits mention:

• Adding exits and heating for future tenants

• A loading dock addition, and addition of dock doors

• Additional sidewalk, driveway and street cuts

• Moving an existing gas line

In October 2013, Harrington told the News-leader that two tenants were leasing space in the building.

Ohio-based Buckhorn Inc. began leasing approximately 120,000 square feet in the southeast portion of the building last September.

Another 230,000 square feet has been leased by Springfield-based Newstream Enterprises since the spring of 2012.

The Greene County Assessor's Office lists the main building at 724,005 square feet.

At its height, Harrington said last year, Solo Cup owned or leased nearly 1.35 million square feet across three interconnected buildings in the area, all of which is now owned by Warren Davis Properties. Approximately 760,000 square feet of that is now leased.

Warren Davis Properties has divided the main plant into sections ranging from 15,000-square-foot office spaces to the 120,000-square-foot tract to broaden the appeal of the leases. The company's website offers virtual tours of the spaces.

"It's great warehouse distribution space," Smith said of the building on Tuesday.

"Part of it's not as desirable for modern manufacturing because the ceiling heights are not as high as a lot of manufacturers want, so they're doing some marketing for warehouse and distribution."