Hotel Vandivort held a three-day event called “A Toast to Ten,” celebrating the boutique downtown hotel hitting a decade since it opened its doors in July 2015.

The hotel stood witness to a lot of changes in downtown Springfield in its 10 years. A ramp up in residential housing complexes and, at the same time, a decline in core downtown industries like retail stores. The pandemic hit downtown, and Hotel Vandivort, especially hard. The boutique hotel had to close its doors for more than a month, co-owner John McQueary said at the hotel July 17, the first night of the three-day celebration.

After opening the food-and-beverage concept, The Order, on the first floor in 2015, Hotel Vandivort dove into a massive expansion — renovating and opening a second building, including the rooftop bar Vantage — in 2019. The expansion included additional, much-needed guest rooms, McQueary said.

“Then, we opened about three months before COVID hit,” McQueary said, describing what became one of the most turbulent periods in the hotel’s decade-long history. “So, we were just like, ‘OK we’re going to turn the lights off, I guess?’”

Originally built in 1906 as a Masonic Temple, the owners kept the historic aspects during renovations

From left, the McQuearys: Alison, Billy, John and Karen pose for a portrait inside the Hotel Vandivort on Thursday, July 17, 2025, in Springfield.

When the hotel did reopen following stay-at-home orders, the second building, and specifically Vantage, proved to be clutch for the company as guests could spread out during the mask mandates, the co-owner said.

McQueary, his wife, Karen, and his brother, Billy, own the boutique hotel that has become a beacon of downtown Springfield’s big-town, small-city skyline in the decade since it was constructed. With the 2019 addition, Hotel Vandivort, located at 305 E. Walnut St., has 97 guest rooms spread out over two buildings.

The building that houses the hotel was originally built in 1906 as a Masonic Temple, according to the hospitality company website. The owners made sure to preserve architectural and historic details like iron pillars and crown molding. When the McQueary clan bought the building and began renovations, the goal was to take part in the revitalization of Springfield’s oldest corridor, John McQueary said.

“We just wanted to be part of the resurgence down here and looked for the most impactful kind of project,” McQueary said in an interview at the three-day event’s kick-off. “It has been fun to see. Ten years is a long time.

“It feels like one of the cornerstones of downtown now. It’s always alive — it’s a 24/7 business.”

Downtown has ‘ups and downs,’ but big projects like Renew Jordan Creek give hope

Balloons reading “Toast To Ten” hang above Hotel Vandivort during its 10-year anniversary celebration on Thursday, July 18, 2025, in Springfield. (Photo by Ellie Frysztak)

While COVID was a shock to the entire business landscape, downtown has made it through and there are some exciting, revitalizing projects coming to Springfield’s oldest corridor, Karen McQueary said.

Downtown “has its ups and downs,” Karen McQueary said. “… I feel like it continues to go up and right now, we’re looking at big moments.

“… There’s these huge things coming on with the daylighting project and the potential convention center.”

The co-owner is referring to the Renew Jordan Creek project, which will restore the historic creek in downtown and aid economic development in the area. Construction began in late-2024 and ramped up in 2025, according to the project’s website.

Renew Jordan Creek is “creating a place of engagement, a place of identity,” John McQueary said. “That’s one of the biggest challenges and goals of the city: Develop a true identity for a city and create the kinds of amenities that endear you to a place.”

With a downtown Springfield convention center potentially set to be developed as the project survived Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe’s veto pen. However, the $30 million earmark, which will have to be matched by the city, was restricted, essentially leaving it up to the governor’s discretion on when and if to release the funds.

A study on the convention center released earlier in July showed that a downtown convention center would be a boost to other hotels and businesses in the region. All of this bodes well for Hotel Vandivort, and even with a convention center-attached hotel, there should be a boost to Vandivort traffic.

“I see nothing but positive from” a downtown convention center, John McQueary said.

John and Karen McQueary try to take a step back for Vandivort’s next chapter

From left, Lucy Aguirre, 16, shows her mom Logan Aguirre, center, and Tracy Powell the photo she took of them during the Hotel Vandivort 10-year anniversary celebration on Thursday, July 17, 2025, in Springfield. (Photo by Ellie Frysztak)

There have been some changes at the downtown hotel since the throes of the pandemic. Hotel Vandivort built a new meeting room and made that revenue stream more of a focus, which has paid off, John McQueary said. The hotel offers 3,900 square feet of meeting space, according to the hospitality company website.

The hotel owners switched up management companies in 2024, with Sage Hospitality Group taking over. The transition has gone well, and now, the goal for John and Karen McQueary is to let go of the reins a bit. That has not been easy.

“Ten years, it’s been super hands on,” Karen McQueary said. “We’re working on being able to back away because it was such a passion that it was hard to let go of.”

Hotel Vandivort has proven to be a lot of work for the McQueary clan, who had never been hoteliers and had to learn the ins-and-outs of the industry as they developed the downtown boutique hotel. John McQueary said he might not be able to stop with just Vandivort.

“At some point, we’ll ask that question again: What’s needed down here?” John McQueary said.

While the co-owner said he has no “shovels in the ground ready” plan to acquire any other downtown buildings for future projects, he’s always on the lookout.

“My eyes are open for that; it’s hard for me to turn off,” McQueary said. “We need life on the square for sure.”

Ryan Collins

Ryan Collins is the business and economic development reporter for the Springfield Daily Citizen. Collins graduated from Glendale High School in 2011 before studying journalism and economics at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He previously worked for Bloomberg News. Contact him at (417) 849-2570 or [email protected]. More by Ryan Collins