Home Posts tagged Liberty Junction Team

DCAMM Releases 11 Courthouse Development Proposals, Defends Selected Site

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Daily News

BOSTON — The state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) has released the full details of each of the 11 development proposals to replace the Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse, along with a defense of the selected project, submitted by the Liberty Junction Team for 125 Liberty St. Click here to access all the proposals.

In defense of its selection, which is being challenged in Hampden Superior Court by two of the rejected developers, Jeb Balise and Dinesh Patel, DCAMM cited the Liberty Junction site’s strategic location, its 42-month delivery schedule, the team’s extensive experience delivering large-scale public facilities, an efficient design, potential for economic development on nearby parcels, and being the lowest-cost option among the 11 proposals, among other factors.

“The data, including the third-party analysis and Trial Court analysis that clearly found the 125 Liberty St. site as the best option, along with the nearly $300 million cost savings proposed, makes abundantly clear why Liberty Junction was selected,” the Liberty Junction Team stated today, echoing the reasons listed above. “This project will deliver a safe and modern courthouse that residents and workers deserve, while delivering the best value for taxpayers.”

The statement continued, “as for the lawsuit filed by two of the non-selected parties, one whose proposed courthouse solution was deemed highly inefficient and would have carried an additional burden to the taxpayer of more than $300 million, and the other whose proposal did not even make the shortlist, we find it unfortunate that they have chosen to interfere with the development of a new courthouse building that is expeditiously needed to replace the ‘sick building’ in which the court resides today. To this end, Liberty Junction will continue to defend against this lawsuit and support the merits of our selection for as long as necessary.”

Opinion: Springfield Should Be Disappointed by Courthouse Choice

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Daily News

‘Game changer’ is loosely defined as event, person, or product that fundamentally alters an existing situation, strategy, or industry.

As the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) and the Trial Court went about reviewing proposals for a new regional justice center, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno urged them to pick a game changer. When the decision came down last week, many observers quickly concluded that they didn’t.

But we’ll get back to that later. Let’s start by noting it might be unrealistic to look upon any courthouse as a game changer. One can be a nice addition to the landscape and an architectural gem, such as Boston’s John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse, or even Springfield’s federal courthouse. But it would a stretch to say that a courthouse, by itself, could be a game changer.

What a courthouse can (and should) do is support the local business community and perhaps be a catalyst for some new business development, such as with restaurants and after-work gathering spots. And we’re not sure the selected site chosen by DCAMM and the Trial Court — 125 Liberty St. and adjoining properties — can even do that.

The site is, to borrow a phrase, on the wrong side of the railroad tracks. It is just 300 yards from another proposed site, the former W.F. Young building and adjoining properties off Dwight Street, and 350 yards from still another proposed site, the former Mardi Gras building. But it’s separated from those sites and the rest of downtown by the railroad bridge, which has proven to be a barrier historically. Can a new courthouse prompt people to cross that barrier? Maybe, but that’s being optimistic.

Meanwhile, the Liberty Junction Team is comprised of FD Stonewater, a Virginia-based boutique development, brokerage, and asset management firm; Co-Jo Partners, a development team that includes John Barros, head of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority; and Boston-based Suffolk Construction. In choosing that project, DCAMM overlooked several local developers who have made significant commitments to this region and have serious skin in the game.

People like Peter Picknelly, who was part of the team that transformed the former Court Square Hotel into market rate and workforce housing. And Jeb Balise, president of the Balise Auto Group; co-owner of 1441 Main St., an increasingly significant player in commercial real estate development in the region; and someone who has given back to the community — for example, with sizable contributions to Square One. It would have been good to see the state give this contract to someone local, someone who would likely have more investments in the city and more philanthropic contributions.

Overall, it appears the state went with the cheapest proposal, and the one that could arguably have the least positive impact on the city.

That’s not to say there won’t be some benefits and some trickle down. There will be hundreds of construction jobs created, obviously. Also, Union Station, which is across Dwight Street from the site, could certainly benefit and might see some additional development and office rentals, meaning it might become more self-sustaining and less reliant on public subsidies. Meanwhile, Baystate Health benefits from selling its headquarters at 280 Chestnut St. and adjoining parking garage to the developers, a sale that comes at a time of real financial hardship and need to consolidate.

But these benefits pale in comparison to the impact of a courthouse in or much closer to a downtown that is being hurt by remote work and is desperate for a spark that might accelerate developments, like the new restaurants open, or soon to open, on Worthington Street.

Meanwhile, something to watch is what happens with Baystate’s headquarters building; if it is intended for office use — meaning lawyers who would frequent the courthouse — this will only create more vacancies downtown and more hardship for property owners there.

Optimists might look at the selection of the Liberty Junction proposal and note that the city could get two, three, or perhaps four or more development projects in sites not chosen for the courthouse, such as the former W.F. Young property, Tower Square Park, the existing courthouse, the Mardi Gras building, and the riverfront site in the North End.

Perhaps, but these sites had gone undeveloped for years, or decades in some cases, for a reason — it’s very difficult to develop them. Housing is certainly needed, but it’s a stern challenge to make a housing project pencil in this part of the state as construction costs continue to rise. New office space? There’s already plenty of vacant space downtown, and there will be more as the trend toward remote work and hybrid schedules accelerates. Retail? That sector is being clobbered by Amazon and likely won’t be making any kind of comeback.

Realistically, the only way those properties were going to be developed was with a can’t-miss, 40-year contract from the state for a new courthouse that would generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue over the life of that contract.

Assuming negotiations go smoothly, that contract will go to the Liberty Junction Team, which is not local and doesn’t seem have the best site from the standpoint of potential impact. But it has the cheapest proposal, and that’s apparently what the state is most interested in.

Time will tell, but this proposal doesn’t look like a game changer, or anything approaching one.

Liberty Junction Team Tapped to Develop New Regional Justice Center

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Today, the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) announced it has accepted the recommendation of the Massachusetts Trial Court to select the Liberty Junction Team to construct the new Roderick L. Ireland Regional Justice Center (RJC) in Springfield.

Following a competitive procurement process led by the Trial Court, in consultation with DCAMM, the selected team will redevelop 125 Liberty St. in downtown Springfield into the future home of the Springfield RJC. The new facility will retain the Roderick L. Ireland name but will replace an obsolete building with modern, safe, accessible and sustainable court facilities for employees, court users and visitors throughout the region.

The Liberty Junction team is a joint venture partnership between CoJo Partners and FD Stonewater, with Leers Weinzapfel Associates and Suffolk Construction providing design and construction services.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno’s immediate response to the decision was one of disappointment. “This is not a game-changing project; our local developers were shunned,” said Sarno, who has backed a proposal to build on new courthouse on the riverfront in the North End of the city.

The proposed Regional Justice Center will be located at 125 Liberty St., a site that offers convenient access to public transportation, including Union Station and 21 bus lines, noted DCAMM, as well as regional highways and nearby parking, making it highly accessible for those needing to visit the court.

In order to deliver the new facility as quickly as possible, DCAMM and the Trial Court obtained approval to utilize a long-term lease for this project. The Asset Management Board authorized an initial lease term of 40 years, with two optional 10-year extensions, allowing occupancy for up to 60 years. Now that the Liberty Junction team has been selected, DCAMM will work with them to execute the lease.

The Trial Court expects to be able to occupy the building in 2030. Had the project been delivered through traditional state construction, it would have taken at least twice as long, due to capital plan funding constraints. Because it will be privately owned, the project will also generate significant new property taxes for the city of Springfield.

“After a thorough and competitive procurement process with several strong proposals, the Liberty Junction Team emerged as the best value proposal in the eyes of the Trial Court,” DCAMM Commissioner Adam Baacke said. “Their experience, an efficient layout that effectively meets functional and security requirements, a downtown location that can catalyze revitalization, and the project’s comparative cost savings make this an excellent outcome for the Commonwealth and the Springfield community.”

The selection follows a competitive procurement process that attracted 10 proposals from development teams across the region. A selection committee composed of Trial Court and DCAMM staff conducted a comprehensive evaluation over several months, visiting all the proposed sites and reviewing each proposal against criteria outlined in the request for proposals, including location, cost, project delivery schedule, and overall value to the Commonwealth.

The new facility will ultimately replace and consolidate operations currently housed at the Roderick Ireland Courthouse and the neighboring housing court to provide a modern, efficient, and resilient home for the courts serving Springfield and the surrounding region.

“125 Liberty Street represents more than a development opportunity — it is a chance to contribute to something lasting in this community,” said Claiborne Williams, principal at FD Stonewater, in a prepared statement on the announcement. “Locating the new Springfield Regional Justice Center in the North End, steps from Union Station and connected to every major transportation corridor in the region, anchors the city’s long-term revitalization efforts. We are proud to be part of that story.”

Richard Mann, Principal at FD Stonewater, added, “from project onset to occupancy, we are committed to ensuring that the Springfield Regional Justice Center creates real, lasting opportunity for the people of Hampden County — not just as a public institution, but as a catalyst for economic opportunity in this region. That means actively bringing diverse businesses to the table at every phase of this project and holding ourselves accountable to the communities this building will serve for generations.”

Key highlights of the selected proposal, according to DCAMM, include:

• A downtown Springfield location with strong, multi-modal transportation access;

• An experienced development team with a proven track record delivering projects of comparable size and complexity for federal and state agencies;

• The lowest-cost proposal submitted among all respondents;

• A project delivery schedule that is among the fastest-proposed;

• A design team with extensive experience designing successful court facilities in Massachusetts and elsewhere, who applied that expertise to present a highly efficient and successful approach to meeting the Trial Court’s needs; and

• A building design that exceeds current energy code requirements and supports the Commonwealth’s climate and decarbonization goals.

The proposed six-story, L-shaped building is also designed to maximize efficiency, providing a logical and efficient layout for court operations and bringing natural light into all courtrooms.

“This is a satisfying and important step toward creating a modern courthouse that better serves our court community, court users, and the Greater Springfield region,” Trial Court Chief Justice Heidi Brieger and Court Administrator Thomas Ambrosino said. “We are grateful to DCAMM and the Healey/Driscoll administration for their support of this critical Trial Court need.”