Answer Man: Exactly where underground is Springfield Underground located?

Answer Man: What parts of Springfield does the Springfield Underground go under? We know where the entrance is, but is the underground location hush hush? — Bruce Stidham, Springfield

First, Bruce, I will tell you what you want to know.

Then I will tell you a little bit more.

Springfield Underground is on the east side of the city. The address is 3610 E. Kearney St., just east of U.S. 65.

That's the company's portal to a different world — 3.2 million square feet (73 acres) of leasable space in a 60-degree environment.

This acreage is underneath property owned by Springfield Underground.

It generally extends from U.S. 65 east to Le Compte Road and from East Kearney Street south to East Division Street.

That information comes from John Griesemer, president and chief executive officer of Springfield Underground, which is now part of the Erlen Group.

The Springfield Underground story starts with a quarry operation in 1946; it produced crushed limestone for construction and agriculture. 

In 1954, mining operations went underground to reduce dust and noise.

Enough area had been mined by 1960 to build the first 250,000 square feet of underground warehouse. Mining continued.

The News-Leader reported in 2015: "The mining process left massive 30-foot by 30-foot pillars of limestone every 50 feet inside — the result of a method known as room and pillar mining — and the buildings and roadways are spaced between them. The ceiling ranges from 27 to 45 feet high, and the floor is 100 feet — think 10 stories — below the surface, which is mostly used as farmland."

The first refrigerated space was created in 1962 for Kraft Foods.

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Ten stories below

I toured this netherworld with 67 third-graders from Sequiota Elementary School in May 2015.

A boy who sat across the aisle from me on the school bus asked: "Is it possible that we could suffocate under here?"

We survived.

The cool climate in the facility allows companies to save on utility bills.

It's 34 degrees in a refrigerated room where Kraft stores cheese.

Also, businesses are protected from ice storms, lightning strikes and tornadoes, meaning they have a stable power supply for data storage.

In 2018, Doug PItt of Springfield moved his company — Pitt Technology Group — to Springfield Underground. 

This year, Springfield Underground completed a 322,000-square-foot expansion for a tenant called Buske Logistics, with corporate offices in Edwardsville, Illinois.

The company is in the transportation and logistics business. Griesemer says it transports and stores Ford parts, among other things.

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Mining continues on other side of town

Back to your question, Bruce.

Some of the Springfield Underground property is west of U.S. 65.

I checked online Greene County Assessor's records, and it appears 482 acres are east of U.S. 65 and 69 are west of it.

Griesemer tells me that there is an additional 1 million square feet (23 acres) of already mined chambers and tunnels available for "infill" — meaning there is plenty of room to create additional "buildings" for businesses that want to go low.

Almost always, he says, an underground business wants both warehouse and office space.

In the 7½ years I've worked at the News-Leader, the subject of "Springfield Underground" often comes up when someone calls the paper with a report of a big boom and/or trembling walls.

The mini-temblors are not coming from blasting at Springfield Underground, Griesemer says.  

In fact, mining operations ceased in 2015.

Springfield Underground has a sister company — Westside Stone, on 500 acres on the other side of the city, near the Springfield-Branson National Airport.

It is an underground mining operation that produces crushed stone. It has nothing to do with underground warehouses or offices.

But this company still does underground blasting.

"But we're not the only ones blasting in Springfield," Griesemer says.

Keep those questions coming. Send them to The Answer Man at 417-836-1253, spokin@gannett.com, on Twitter @stevepokinNL or by mail to 651 Boonville Ave., Springfield, MO 65806.

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