Hunter Hein, president and chief financial officer of O’Reilly Development Co., wields the scissors at a ribbon-cutting event for The Meadows At Wicklow on Sept. 30. Photo: Heather Mosley | SBJ
Cover Story: Meadows at Wicklow cuts ribbon to meet housing need in Nixa
Workforce housing essential throughout region, chamber officials say
Article by: Karen Craigo, Springfield Business Journal, Reporter
The Meadows At Wicklow
1284 N. Old Castle Road
Nixa, MO 65714
It was an event that had “regionalism” written all over it, as leaders of three area chambers of commerce joined other project and community officials in celebrating the grand opening of The Meadows at Wicklow on Sept. 30.
The 240-unit multifamily housing complex at 1284 N. Old Castle Road in Nixa is a project of O’Reilly Development Co. LLC.
An April project report in Springfield Business Journal puts the size of the development at 267,174 square feet built at a cost of $37.5 million. The development features seven open-breezeway, walk-up-style buildings with floor plans ranging from studio to three bedroom.
It’s an important development for an area that needs housing. That was the consensus of three president/CEOs of local chambers: Whitney Guison of the Nixa Area Chamber of Commerce, Chris Russell of the Ozark Chamber of Commerce and Matt Morrow of the Springfield Area Chamber Commerce. The latter organization encompasses a 10-county regional economic footprint, according to its website.
Guison introduced the event with a general welcome, but she spoke to SBJ after the event.
“We need more housing in Nixa – period,” she said. “This offers us not just more housing, but beautiful, high-quality housing that just fits our community, fits the needs of our community and offers a place for families to start in Nixa.”
Guison said Nixa is a community a lot of people want to live in, but it can be hard to get into with the prices of its housing.
“Having a complex like this makes it affordable for our younger couples and others to come into this community, and they don’t have to start with a mid-level home. They can start with something simple,” she said.
Asked if her organization has been examining the housing shortage issue, Guison said yes.
“Always,” she said. “Everyone always is.”
A September Realtor.com market overview for Nixa shows a citywide median listing price of $394,000 for homes, a figure that has been static year over year. Realized prices are lower at $300,243. There are 281 active home listings and 48 rental properties with a median rental price of $1,850.
Regional support
Although the development has a Nixa address, Russell, of Ozark, said it is a boon for his community, too.
“When you look at this development, Villages of Wicklow, and you look at the amount of traffic that’s coming down Highway 65, yes, we’re getting some organic traffic from whatever travels up and down that highway,” he said. “But on the other side of that, a lot of what’s over there is residual of this traffic here.”
Russell said development on the north and east side of Nixa helps with the Ozark region.
“On top of that, workforce,” he said, referring to nearby businesses. “When you see developments here, it’s a regional-type approach, and it really benefits us – same thing with Springfield. This is really easy to get into Springfield, too.”
Russell said Ozark and Nixa have a special relationship.
“There’s Friday night lights, of course, but you know, that’s different,” he said. “Our cities really do work together very, very well.”
He said the mayors of the cities get together monthly, and the schools also collaborate.
“They’re two different communities – I will tell you that,” he said. “Nixa’s got their style, and I think it’s awesome; same thing with Ozark, and it’s great – it’s amazing – but when they want to collaborate, they do a very good job on it.”
Morrow, of Springfield, shared goals that apply to the 10-county area that comprises the five-county Springfield metropolitan statistical area, whose population recently topped the half-million mark, and beyond, for a total population of about 680,000.
“Together, we have some really ambitious goals for the region that are for everyone’s good,” Morrow said.
Specifically, the Springfield chamber wants to see regional gross domestic product grow by 75% by the end of the decade while adding 15,000 prime-working-age adults to the workforce.
“That creates more opportunity for everybody who lives here,” Morrow said. “Our big constraint is housing.”
He said more housing supply – with The Meadows at Wicklow serving as a paradigm – is what’s needed.
“Having increased housing supply, especially if we’re able to do more of what we see today – and it can be anywhere in the region, because it’s a regional laborshed – but if we’re able to do this, if we’re able to really bet big on housing, then we’ll be one of the handful of communities that sees really prosperous growth while really controlling our cost of living,” Morrow said.
He praised the O’Reilly Development Co.’s investment.
“This is what modern multifamily housing looks like,” he said. “When you really look at and see the nature of modern multifamily housing – the kind of investment that companies like O’Reilly are making in Nixa, to really bet big in our community and on our region – I think it should give us a lot of confidence moving forward.”
He said generally speaking, modern multifamily people is where young people live on their way to homeownership, or it’s where retiring people live when they want to give up rigorous upkeep and maintenance.
“All of that is really important to our community’s health,” he said.
The Meadows at Wicklow
The grand opening and ribbon-cutting event included tours of one-, two- and three-bedroom units in the facility, and in the center was a resort-style pool, still open on the last day of September.
Other amenities are a multisport court for pickleball and basketball, a fitness center, a dog park and a lighted walking trail around a lake.
Hunter Hein, president and chief financial officer, spoke on behalf of O’Reilly Development Co., while noting that the company’s founder and namesake, Pat O’Reilly, was unable to be present.
Hein said that more than 20 years ago, O’Reilly helped to hatch a vision for the area, starting with the Villages at Wicklow.
The Villages at Wicklow is a multiphase, master-planned community, according to the O’Reilly Development Co. website. The community includes single-family neighborhoods, multifamily housing, retail, offices and activity centers. The 280-acre development includes 521 residential lots, and its third phase opened in fall 2014, according to the website. The community also includes the 113,060-square-foot Castlewood Senior Living facility, with 104 units, a mix of independent living, assisted living and memory care units.
According to past SBJ reporting, the general contractor is Russell Construction Co. with architect H Design Group LLC and engineers Shaffer & Hines Inc., civil; Mettemeyer Engineering LLC, structural; and CJD Engineering LLC, mechanical, electrical and plumbing. Interior designer is Creative Design Consultants.
The lender is Arvest Bank, and All Pro Capital LLC, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the project’s investing partner, Hein said.
The apartment complex is to be managed by Affiniti Management Services.
Hein said a project like The Meadows at Wicklow is a team effort, with many people playing a part from design through construction and opening.
“We’re grateful for all of those contributions and proud of what everyone has created here in Nixa,” he said.
He added that when the community opens, the focus shifts.
“Once the door is open, it becomes about the people who are here every day and the people who choose to make this place home,” he said. “To the residents who have already chosen to call The Meadows home, thank you. Ultimately, you’re the ones who turn a development into a community – a place where individuals and families can live, connect and enjoy everything The Meadows of Wicklow has to offer.”
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Craigo, Karen. (2026, October 2). Meadows at Wicklow cuts ribbon to meet housing need in Nixa. Springfield Business Journal. October 5-11, 2026 / Vol. 48, No. 12.
