Several weeks back, we opined that the ongoing search for a new courthouse site in Springfield has been much like the race to locate the Western Mass. casino more than a decade ago — an exercise packed with speculation, hope, and … more speculation.
Now that DCAMM (the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance) has released the list of proposed locations and developers, we’d have to say this search is like the casino hunt on steroids.
In all, 11 proposals have been submitted, covering a wide range of properties across downtown Springfield, many of them vacant or underutilized to one extent or another — everything from Steiger Park to the building that was home to the closed Mardi Gras strip club; from the Springfield Newspapers property to the current courthouse itself; from the former YMCA building on Chestnut Street to office properties on Main Street, Maple Street, and State Street.
It’s quite a list, and together these proposals tell the story of just how much real estate downtown falls into the categories of ‘non-performing’ and ‘underperforming.’
Indeed, the quest for a new courthouse offers an intriguing answer to the question — and in some cases it’s been asked for years, if not decades — ‘what to do with…?’ Examples include:
• Steiger Park. Created after the demolition of the Steiger’s department store on Main Street, it was then called by some ‘a little park for a little while.’ That was nearly 30 years ago. Meanwhile, the park has become a popular gathering spot, home to a farmers’ market and at least one art exhibit. Many would like to see it stay a park.
• The Republican building. Built during a much different time for newspapers and for a staff exponentially larger than the one now working there, the property has been the subject of considerable speculation in recent years and was a big part of one of the proposed Springfield casino plans. In a few signs of the times, a considerable portion of the property is now being leased out to a cannabis dispensary;
• The Liberty Arts Building (125 Liberty St.). Built in the mid-’60s as part of comprehensive urban renewal in the North End (as was the Republican building), this property has certainly seen better days and now has a relatively high vacancy rate. It would be combined with another parcel to create the requisite space for a new courthouse.
• The Mardi Gras building (91 Taylor St.). The strip club has been closed for years, and the building that housed it has been mostly vacant. Housing has been proposed as a new use, but this would be an expensive retrofit.
• The existing courthouse site. It has long been considered a second development opportunity if and when a new courthouse is built elsewhere. It has some advantages as home to the new courthouse, but a temporary facility would have to be found while a new facility is being built, and that might prove problematic. The theater section of the former Eastfield Mall had been suggested for that role before it was torn down.
We can continue this exercise with the other properties on the list, including the former YMCA, the office building at 55 State St., and two mostly vacant office and medical buildings on Maple Street.
Unfortunately, the courthouse project will only solve one of these problems. It will be up to the city and the development community to solve the others.
Meanwhile, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno is calling for a courthouse project that will be ‘game-changing.’ We interpret that to mean something that will do more than solve one of the above-listed problems, a project that could help transform a part of the downtown.
It remains to be seen if any of the projects actually fit that description. So let the speculation begin. Actually, it began a long time ago, so … let it continue.
