The Springfield Redevelopment Authority is seeking development proposals for the city-owned Court Square properties on Elm Street in the downtown.
Just as the Grinch tried to steal Christmas, Springfield hopes a pair of historic buildings in its downtown will steal developers’ hearts.
City officials believe the redevelopment of the two buildings overlooking Court Square Park could spur a downtown revitalization. But the plan to bring luxury condominiums, offices or retail space to a pair of abandoned gems seized for nonpayment of taxes will be a challenge.
Springfield, 90 miles west of Boston, is ranked as one of the nation’s most dangerous cities. Its students’ MCAS scores are at the bottom. Drug trafficking and homelessness are rampant.
Despite the obstacles, Brian Connors, Springfield’s deputy director of economic development, is convinced that the city – whose most famous son, Dr. Seuss, wrote “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” and other children’s classics – has the potential for a dramatic rebirth.
Last week, the Springfield Redevelopment Authority issued a Request for Qualifications asking developers to submit their credentials and examples of work they’ve completed. The agency will narrow the field to four firms that will be invited to submit more detailed proposals to purchase the properties. Submissions are due Feb. 12.
“In the first few days of issuing the RFQ, we heard from 20 developers, so we’re encouraged by the interest,” said Connors. “We’re very excited about the potential to breathe new life back to Court Square.”
The larger of the two properties, which is located at 13-31 Elm St., is a 100,000-square-foot former hotel built in 1892. It features Beaux-Arts acrchitecture, Romanesque stonework, bay windows and original oak woodwork. Next door at 3-7 Elm St. is a Federal-style brick building that was constructed in 1835. The landmarks are located on a classic New England city green, across from City Hall and Symphony Hall, and near interstates 90 and 91.
Last year, the Urban Land Institute, a national think tank, issued a 48-page report on Springfield and recommended that the city remake its downtown. The study recommended market-rate housing, more retail and entertainment as ways the city could realize its potential.
But ULI also noted that making the streets safe is job one. “Crime has increased as gangs and drug trafficking gained a foothold in the city,” the report said. “Some middle-class residents chose to move to the suburbs Â… some neighborhoods have started to slide Â… and development projects floundered as corruption crept into segments of the public sector.”
The report’s recommendations included redevelopment of the Elm Street properties. ULI suggested ground-level uses to encourage pedestrians and more-walkable connections in the downtown area, as well as housing or offices.
While office space is a potential use for the project, Shawn McMahon, a broker for Jones Lang LaSalle, said he is not sure landlords could fill the 6-story building with Class A offices.
“There’s no new demand,” he said. “If MassMutual decides to take more space in the city or anywhere else that would change, but for now that’s not happening.”
A second study, by Zimmerman/Volk Assoc., found the downtown could support 750 units of luxury housing over the next five years. But researchers noted that potential residents will be deterred by “overt drug dealing and prostitution, trash on the streets, and the visible homeless population, some who panhandle for a living and often take up temporary residence in the entryways to downtown residential buildings.”
‘A Real Plan’
Still, the city has pluses. Some businesses have continued to expand, including MassMutual Financial Group and Baystate Health. The downtown has seen new regional cultural and civic spaces, with the construction of the city’s convention center and the addition and expansion of museums. City leadership has been rekindled, and business leaders are discussing new projects and investments.
In recent months, Springfield has clawed its way out of near bankruptcy. In 2004, the Legislature created the Finance Control Board at a time when the city faced a $41 million deficit. The step, just short of receivership, was approved by then-Gov. Mitt Romney. The controversial panel investigated corruption and mismanagement at City Hall, the Police Department and the Housing Authority. Armed with the power to control spending and hiring, and to negotiate union contracts, it erased the deficit.
But Springfield also must contend with a weak housing market where scores of homes are listed for under $100,000, a downtown with boarded-up storefronts and more violent crime than Worcester, a larger city.
Springfield’s Connors does not deny issues facing the city. But he said luxury housing along Elm Street could be a model for a new downtown. He said that young professionals and empty nesters would move to the city, but the older housing stock in town does not offer many amenities.
“Today the downtown has 2,600 units of housing and of that number, 2,100 are subsidized,” he said. “We do have empty retail and we are looking at ways to fill those spaces. We have some offices, but we need more people here at night and weekends. I know this is a city that struggles with the perception of safety. We need more eyes on the street, more people 24/7.”
Connors also noted that public improvements have surrounded the development site with $2.5 million in Main Street upgrades that are nearing completion, and $13 million in nearby State Street renovations are set to begin. With $71 million spent on the construction of the new MassMutual Center and the overhaul of public improvements made at Court Square Park adjacent to the buildings, the idea for luxury condos is more than just a dream, he said.
In addition, he said development is taking place on the city’s waterfront. He cited the construction of a $14 million sports, fitness and entertainment complex in the former Basketball Hall of Fame and a $20 million investment for a new health center.
Connors added that Springfield is dealing with the homeless. He said the city is building a shelter east of downtown that will provide services to the needy in one place.
“The homeless shelter was on the riverfront and the services to treat them were scattered in the downtown,” he said. “We are building one resource shelter outside the edge of the downtown that will decrease their visibility.”
Anthony Proscio, co-author of “Comeback Cities: A Blueprint for Urban Neighborhood Revival,” said the first thing the any city must do in order to have an effective redevelopment plan is have some underlying strength in its economy – something that Springfield lacks.
“Without a strong or strengthening economy, it’s very hard to use real estate to develop your way back to health,” he said. “And struggling downtowns need residents with disposable income. You can’t build a local economy on folks with limited income.”
Proscio, who grew up in Detroit, said the idea to revive a downtown with the latest hot development idea has been a failure in many cities, including his hometown.
“There’s a national temptation for cities to try to turn a block over to some big developer and pray they devise something that will work,” he said. “But if Springfield hopes to create an attractive downtown and lure new residents, it will make it attractive for businesses to locate there. That makes sense and that’s a real plan.”
