Landmark Decision
From left: Joe Sullivan, Jordan Healy, Marc Murphy, Mike Rogers, and John Sullivan.
Joe Sullivan says he and business partner John Sullivan (no relation) were “looking to hedge our bets and diversify.”
It was the height of the pandemic; the restaurant they co-owned, Nathan Bill’s, was forced to close; and, like most all business owners navigating those difficult and unprecedented times, they didn’t know what was to come next.
“We were looking for real estate purchases and maybe another business opportunity,” said Joe Sullivan, adding that the two would buy a package store and then the plaza in which Nathan Bill’s was located, among other transactions. “And as we were doing all that, someone mentioned this spot to us and said it would be good for a restaurant.
“We already had three restaurants and said, ‘we don’t really want another restaurant, but it looks interesting,’” he went on. “We did our due diligence and realized that we could do something different and really special here.”
That was the genesis of one of the more intriguing development initiatives in the region — work to turn back the clock on the Wilbraham landmark known as the Lakeside.
Once a popular inn and restaurant, the property on Nine Mile Pond, most recently home to a transportation company, had fallen into disuse. John and Joe Sullivan have become partners with the principals at West Springfield-based Lock and Key Realty in an ambitious effort to revive the property and create a 15-room boutique hotel and restaurant, with outdoor dining and lake access.
“We already had three restaurants and said, ‘we don’t really want another restaurant, but it looks interesting.’ We did our due diligence and realized that we could do something different and really special here.”
The project has certainly captured the attention — and affection — of Wilbraham officials (members of the Planning Board are said to have cheered when the project was proposed), as well as the legions of fans of the Lakeside restaurant, often involving several generations of families.
“The community support has been overwhelming — social media has been huge, and we’ve gotten letters from people praising what we’re doing,” John Sullivan said. “Every time I’m out working on the yard, I’ve got people in kayaks thanking us and congratulating us.”
An early ad for the Lakeside Inn.
Such sentiments were repeated among the five main principals in this venture, who spoke with BusinessWest at the Lakeside recently. Collectively, they talked about how, while this is a solid real estate investment, the endeavor also blends history, tradition, and community, and these attributes bring ample amounts of pride and enthusiasm for what is being undertaken.
“It’s a property the community truly cares about, and with the right vision and redevelopment strategy, it has the ability to become a destination that drives economic activity and sustained local value,” said Jordan Healy, a partner at Lock and Key Realty. “For us, it’s more than a single project—it’s a chance to help reshape a landmark in a way that benefits the region for decades.”
Mike Rogers, another principal with Lock and Key Realty, agreed. “It seems that everyone who comes in has some family that had some experiences here, whether it was recently or decades ago,” he said. “So the appeal of renovating this property and trying to maintain some of that historic charm, like with the gazebo, while also modernizing it, is a huge draw for us and the community, and it’s really something that’s driving excitement in this project.”
As for the business aspects of this venture, the principals say that, while construction has not officially begun, they’re already hearing from people looking to book rooms — from couples planning to get married at the nearby GreatHorse country club to officials and participants involved with the Brimfield antique shows staged three times each year.
Meanwhile, the redevelopment of the former Eastfield Mall into a retail destination promises to bring more traffic to the Route 20 corridor and to businesses like the new Lakeside, said John Sullivan, adding that the new shopping center, coupled with the Lakeside project, is likely to spur new activity along that throughfare and activate currently idle real estate.
“There will be a ripple effect where there will be more investment opportunities and redevelopment along Boston Road,” he said, adding that there are several vacant or underutilized properties that could be reimagined.
For this issue, BusinessWest talked with the principals involved with the Lakeside project about the many aspects of this endeavor, from its history to the way it might well become a catalyst for more development on Boston Road.
On the Waterfront
For Joe Sullivan, the Lakeside project evokes a different time — for both Wilbraham and his family.
Indeed, his grandfather, Barton Sullivan, owned and operated the Auto Inn, an automobile-era lodging establishment, farther north on Route 20 and on the opposite side of Nine Mile Pond from where the Lakeside sits.
“It’s a property the community truly cares about, and with the right vision and redevelopment strategy, it has the ability to become a destination that drives economic activity and sustained local value.”
There were several establishments of that type on or near Route 20, he said, adding that, during the stagecoach era, there was one every 10 or 15 miles.
As for the Lakeside, it opened its doors in the early 1940s and quickly became a popular destination, with a restaurant, a club with bands, a banquet hall, and a few rooms for rent.
“There’s a lot of history here,” Sullivan said, noting an intriguing bit involving the name of the establishment and the body of water it fronts.
“This is called the Lakeside Inn, but this is Nine Mile Pond,” he said, noting that this name connotes how far the pond is from the center of Springfield. “At some point in the ’50s or ’60s, they changed the name of the body of water to Lake Machonish; the Lakeside owners just decided to do that because they wanted to advertise it as a lake. It didn’t catch on.
“We may try that again,” he said with a laugh, noting that it was partly out of a desire to turn back the clock, while making more business history on Boston Road, that prompted him to take a hard look at the Lakeside property. A serial entrepreneur, he and John Sullivan had become involved with several hospitality ventures, including Nathan Bill’s on Boston Road in Springfield, East Village Tavern in East Longmeadow, the Boulevard Bar on Page Boulevard in Springfield, and others.
The Auto Inn, owned and operated by Joe Sullivan’s grandfather, provided some inspiration for the Lakeside project.
As noted earlier, redevelopment of the property represented not merely a real estate investment, but a unique opportunity to revive what many would consider a landmark.
“Through talking to the architect and talking to the town, we figured out there was an opportunity to build a small boutique hotel and still have a restaurant on the first floor,” Joe Sullivan said. “Everything fit into place and worked out to look like a really successful plan.”
That plan was further solidified by the emergence of a partnership between John Sullivan, Joe Sullivan, and the principals of Lock and Key Realty — Healy, Rogers, and Marc Murphy — who, collectively and individually, have become involved with several business and real estate ventures in the 413, including Shaker Bowl in East Longmeadow and All American Masonry in Indian Orchard, as well as the redevelopment of several fire stations and other properties.
Healy said those at Lock and Key are always looking for real estate opportunities, and the Lakeside made sense on many levels.
“There’s so much history behind it … it just felt like a project where we could reutilize, revitalize, and restore something, make it pretty again — and it’s right in line with what we do,” he noted. “If we can bring some redevelopment back to Wilbraham, it’s a home run for everyone.”
Elaborating, he said there is considerable synergy between the two partnership entities, with Joe and John Sullivan bringing experience in hospitality, and Lock and Key thriving in the redevelopment realm.
Murphy agreed. “Partnering with the Sullivan Group was a natural fit. They have deep experience in hospitality, creating successful restaurant and bar concepts that consistently serve the community at a high level. Together, we blend hospitality vision with market insight to ensure the Lakeside project becomes both a vibrant destination and a strong, long-term asset for the region.”
Joe and John Sullivan officially acquired the Lakeside last August, but talks about the property and the creation of a plan for its redevelopment had been ongoing for a few years prior, Joe said.
“The timing is right because the community is ready for this property to be brought back to life.”
“I wanted to make sure the town approved of what we wanted to do before we bought the property,” he explained, adding that the partners obtained a special permit to create an inn there.
Shore Thing
As for the reimagining of the property, the partners said this will be a major undertaking, with projections for the overall cost to approach or exceed $3 million.
Indeed, while the work falls into the categories of renovation and restoration, it will be much more like new construction, said Joe, adding that, while the property still has good bones, it is no longer suited for either a restaurant or an inn.
“It’s going to be a major construction project — raising the roof, literally,” he told BusinessWest. “The major appeal is that this is waterfront property — they don’t make any more of that. It’s a beautiful spot; even the gazebo needs a little fixing up, but it adds to that picturesque appeal.”
Work is expected to start within the next few months, said John Sullivan, adding that the goal is be finished in perhaps a year to 18 months. The partners are planning a 15-room hotel and a 100-seat restaurant (to be managed by a third party), and they’re already seeing great anticipation for both.
Indeed, John said that, between parents of students at nearby Wilbraham & Monson Academy, wedding parties at GreatHorse, and visitors to the Brimfield shows, there will be strong demand for the inn’s rooms.
“A family from Scotland has asked to rent out the whole place for two weeks for a wedding, and the organizers of the Brimfield fair wanted it block it off for a whole month,” he told BusinessWest, adding that there have been many inquiries about both the inn and restaurant.
And the surge in traffic from the new retail center taking shape a few down the road at the former Eastfield Mall is expected to bring more people to the property, said the partners, noting that, given all they’ve seen and heard, from the Planning Board and kayakers alike, this certainly seems like a sound business investment.
But it has always been more than that, they stressed, noting the attachment the community has to this property and the memories it has created for generations of area residents.
“It’s a good investment opportunity, but it’s a community-focused project as well,” Healy said. “And for a lot of us, that brings a level of excitement that we normally wouldn’t have. You can build 20 houses, and you never get any notoriety from those 20 houses; you do a project like this, and the community gets excited.”
Rogers agreed. “The Lakeside project represents a turning point. It shows what’s possible when investment, vision, and community pride come together,” he said. “Projects like this attract new interest, encourage surrounding revitalization, and help establish the region as a place where people want to live, invest, and build.
“The timing is right because the community is ready for this property to be brought back to life, and market conditions support redevelopment that adds both lifestyle and economic value,” he went on, adding, as others did, that this project will being rewards — for the partners involved and the community as a whole — on many levels.
