The former Pillsbury Mills plant on the north east side of Springfield closed 20 years ago. The 18-acre property has significant legal entanglements and is known to be contaminated with asbestos and lead paint. The surrounding neighborhoods are among the most severely impoverished in Springfield.
Removal of existing structures and redevelopment of the site will provide the area with public safety, environmental, health, justice, and economics benefits.
Moving Pillsbury Forward (MPF) has positioned itself to coordinate redevelopment of the 18-acre site.
The Pillsbury project is large and complex but manageable. The project is reasonable and workable with the coordination provided by Moving Pillsbury Forward. It is also clearly worth the effort.
Doing nothing is the worst possible outcome. A successful outcome will require significant support from both public and private sources – and the support of the entire Springfield community. Please join us.
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John Keller – we have lost a key team member this week
Friends, John Keller, longtime Pillsbury Neighborhood Association President and advocate for the Pillsbury Neighborhood that he called home for decades, passed this week. John was many things in life (student at Bunn Elementary School, husband, father, business owner) but first and foremost in the later years he was a person that cared deeply about his…
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Flashback to 1940
Friends, As we begin 2025 with the anticipation of large-scale demolition at the remaining structures at the site, we pause today to look back 85-years to 1940. This was the 10th anniversary of Pillsbury’s grand opening in Springfield. And it was a time when quantities of flour produced were still measured in barrels rather than…
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Pillsbury Project 2024 Accomplishments
Friends, 2024 marked another year of great accomplishments for Moving Pillsbury Forward and the Pillsbury Project. Functionally, we secured an additional $4M in cleanup and demolition funding, we recycled over 600 tons of materials from the site, and we completed all the necessary government reviews so that large-scale demolition can take place in 2025. In…
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“Pillsbury: Past, Present, and Future”
Chris Richmond, retired Fire Marshall in Springfield, IL and creator of the group Moving Pillsbury Forward, gives a PechaKucha presentation on “Pillsbury: Past, Present, and Future” as part of Springfield Inner City Older Neighborhoods’ (ICON) Annual Party Fundraiser 2019.