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City of Springfield to Utilize ARPA Funding to Acquire Main Street Properties for Economic Redevelopment

Springfield, MA – The City of Springfield and the Springfield Redevelopment Authority (SRA) announce that they will utilize funding designated for eligibility of economic development from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to acquire properties for redevelopment in alignment with the Main Street and Convention Center Master Plan.

 

The properties that City/SRA will purchase are 113-115 State Street, 1139-1155 Main Street and 11-21 Stockbridge Street.  In 2019, all of the properties were put under the control of Freedom Credit Union and participatory lenders.  Due to the City’s concerns that potential investors would not invest in or appropriately tenanting them, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Chief Development Officer Tim Sheehan reached out to Freedom Credit Union to discuss plans to acquire the properties for redevelopment.

 

The assessed value for the properties are:

  • $1,318,900 for 113-115 State Street
  • $2,105,000 for 1139-1155 Main Street
  • $303,400 for 11-21 Stockbridge Street

 

The properties were listed for sale for $5 million.  The City/SRA will purchase the properties for $2,750,000.

 

Mayor Sarno states, “I want to thank CAFO TJ Plante, CDO Tim Sheehan and his team, especially Armando Feliciano Chairman of the SRA Board and all of the SRA Board members for their efforts in moving this vital economic and redevelopment initiative forward.  This investment will greatly benefit my administrations vision of enhancing our downtown district and ensures that that these key properties will not be underutilized or underdeveloped by questionable investors who would have no intentions of properly investing in our City and finding appropriate tenants for this prime real estate area.”

 

CDO Sheehan states, “The City / SRA’s proactive acquisition of these properties has thwarted the adverse impacts of further speculative investment in the real estate surrounding MGM-Springfield from occurring.  Going forward the City / SRA will ensure that these important properties will be reintroduced to the market in a manner consistent with their importance to the economic vitality of the area immediately surrounding the casino and the development objectives of the Main Street & Convention Center Master Plan as approved by the City Council.”

 

City Council President Marcus Williams stated, “The transformation of the downtown corridor will continue to be a work in progress and this is another sizable step in activating spaces that have needed attention for quite some time. To attract businesses, investment and people, we need to have a thriving downtown district and I am appreciative of the efforts made on all fronts to acquire these properties for future rehabilitation.”

 

Ward 2 City Councilor Attorney Michael Fenton added, “The future development of this area is critical to growing a thriving downtown. I am thrilled that we are able to acquire these strategic properties. It is an exciting time for our City and I look forward to seeing new life breathed into this corridor between MGM and the MassMutual Center.”

 

SRA Board Chairman Armando Feliciano states, “I applaud the City team lead by CDO Tim Sheehan and Mayor Sarno for being proactive to assure that future development for our downtown district will not be hindered.  I want to also thank the City Council for working together and approving the Main Street and Convention Center Master Plan to make sure that this property is reintroduced to potential investors that will have the same vision and passion to see these beautiful properties thrive and flourish once again.”

 

From May to October 2020, the City conducted an extensive due diligence on the buildings and in May 2020 signed the LOI to acquire the properties.  In June, 2020, the SRA approved the P&S agreement and in July 2020, the P&S agreement was executed.  Currently, the city is in a 90-day due diligence period prior to closing.  The SRA will be the owner on record for these properties.

 

113-115 State Street was built in 1903, 1139-1155 Main Street was built in 1905 and 11-21 Stockbridge Street was built in 1962.