SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Representatives with TLC Properties and Springfield Mayor Ken McClure celebrated the groundbreaking of the new luxury apartments in the location of the former Heritage Cafeteria.

Tuesday morning, TLC Properties broke ground for its new luxury apartment complex. A crowd of people joined the celebration at Battlefield Road and Fremont Avenue in Springfield.

The location will now house a multi-use building with 95 residential units and about 7000 square feet for commercial properties. The apartment complex will be called Heritage Apartments.

“We’re keeping Heritage in the name. We felt like that was important as well. Just again, to pay tribute to what was here, what we’re redeveloping on top of and you know, we just really always– our heart was always to honor that site,” said the president of Coryell Collaborative Group, Samuel Coryell. “It means a lot to anybody that’s been in Springfield.”

“We’re not sure yet what commercial customer we’ll have in here, but we know we’ve had a lot of interest in the industry, so we think we’ll get some good users from retail or restaurant or shopping,” says Coryell.

He said their goal is to allow those who live in Heritage Apartments to get what they want and need within walking distance.

“Being able to come out of your apartment, go out the front door and have a variety of services within walking distance, not have to get in your car,” says Coryell. “The only place you can really get that is downtown. So we’re trying to bring that product and those features and that ease of access to the south side of town.”

Heritage Cafeteria closed in 2016 after the owner said business was down and the expenses of keeping the restaurant running were too high.

The building on the property was demolished to make way for the new multi-use building in September 2021. It was the location of the last Heritage Cafeteria in Springfield, a business that at one point was a chain with multiple locations throughout the city.

Heritage Cafeteria served Springfield for 56 years and was a staple for many locals throughout the Ozarks.