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.”
