Take Me to the River

For years, what is now known as the old Basketball Hall of Fame stood vacant, and early in 2006, people were only cautiously optimistic about a big change to the property proposed by two developers who trace their roots back to Springfield. Two years later, the landscaping is being finished and the signage is going up at River’s Landing, and gradually, the city’s riverfront is becoming the place to be, both night and day

In the main kitchen at Onyx Fusion Bar and Restaurant, executive chef Isaac Bancaco is devising a number of dishes that pair international flavors with the traditional ingredients of New England fare.

“It’s tradition with a twist,” said the Hawaiian, recruited by Onyx to bring his unique flair to Western Mass. “Contemporary cuisine using local ingredients is going to be one of our trademarks. It celebrates what’s already here, and brings something new to the table, too.”

This is an apt description of the ‘east-meets-west’ menu at Onyx; fusion, after all, is the calling card of the restaurant. But it’s also an effective metaphor to describe what’s happening at the larger complex in which it operates: River’s Landing, the reincarnation of the former Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and Springfield’s newest destination.

Located adjacent to the new Hall of Fame, next to the Connecticut River, and flanked by I-91, River’s Landing is the brainchild of Peter Pappas and Michael Spagnoli. The two Springfield natives submitted their proposal for a day-into-night entertainment venue centered on health, fitness, and upscale dining to the Springfield Riverfront Development Corp. (SRDC), the private real-estate entity that owns the land, in late 2005.

The partners are dually located on the East and West coasts; Pappas is an East Longmeadow-based real estate developer and importer/exporter, and Spagnoli, a chiropractor, owns a number of medical offices scattered across the country, including several in California, where he now resides.

At the time of the request for proposals, Pappas and Spagnoli, doing business as River’s Landing LLC, were competing against a wide range of proposals for the ‘old hall,’ including a hotel and a public market. But at the end of the day, the duo’s vision won the bid based in part on the upscale yet cohesive feel it aimed to create on the still-expanding stretch of the riverfront that includes not just the Hall of Fame, but also a Hilton Garden Inn and four popular eateries — Max’s Tavern, Coldstone Creamery, Pazzo, and Pizzeria Uno (a fifth, Sam’s Sports Bar, will open in the Hall later this spring).

“It’s a perfect fit with the Hall of Fame and the restaurants that are already doing well here,” said Pappas. “There’s a theme developing that we’re really excited about.”

David Panagore, chief development officer for the city, agreed. He said the look and feel of the riverfront is one that is evolving with the Hall of Fame at its center, augmented by other sports- and fitness-related activities and a good measure of dining and hospitality options.

“There’s a theme here of physical activity that means there’s much more to do along this stretch that eat,” he said, noting that, as development talks continue, the city will be looking to broaden this theme. “We’re looking closely at ‘event commercial’ opportunities that are semi-public, if not public. Five single-family homes, for instance, aren’t even in the realm of possibility. We need something to drive visitors.”

He said the consistency of the River’s Landing project — few major changes have been made to the original proposal — is also an important aspect, because it has helped maintain faith in the riverfront’s future, and has also helped to create a strong base from which to spur further growth.

“It’s about follow-through and keeping promises,” he said of the undertaking by Pappas and Spagnoli. “That’s what’s happened here.”

Going with the Flow

Pappas said he hopes River’s Landing will serve as a model for future projects, adding that, indeed, most of the original plans have stayed intact throughout the planning and construction process, now nearing completion.

L.A. Fitness, a national health club chain, expressed interest in the property early on, and is now putting the finishing touches on a three-story facility that will be the company’s second-largest location in the country, encompassing 60,000 of the 75,000 available square feet on the property. It’s expected to open for business on May 1.

Onyx, also three stories tall, covers 12,000 square feet, and opened for dinner and cocktails last month, the same week the city hosted the Division II college basketball tournament. Development of the remaining 3,000 square feet of the building’s footprint is being completed now, in order to house a Boston-based physical-therapy and sports-medicine outfit.

At the project’s start, Pappas and Spagnoli pledged $9 million in private funds to the endeavor. In 2006, when the partners first spoke with BusinessWest, they noted that this figure could rise to $13 million.

To date, Pappas said they have actually invested $14 million into the project, but lean more heavily on the fact that, as River’s Landing enters its first month as a fully functioning entity, the property is completely occupied, and improvements such as landscaping and exterior lighting, all geared toward making the building attractive and visible from the highway, are moving toward their completion on schedule.

“Action breeds action,” he said. “When people see what’s going on here, they’ll feel more comfortable with coming to the riverfront to use it. I can’t wait to see people walking along the river again.”

Walking through the building, Pappas, who’s added ‘restaurateur’ to his list of titles, said attention has been paid to spurring that action inside and outside of its walls, as well as to the city’s legacy, especially as the birthplace of basketball.

This attention can be seen in its design and in the roster of firms involved with the project; several are local businesses, while some were pulled from other regions to add a metropolitan flavor to River’s Landing.

“The basic structure of the building is the same,” said Pappas, noting, however, that it has received a considerable facelift. “The windows have been replaced, but they still offer views of the river, the Hall of Fame, the highway, and downtown, on different sides. Not only can people inside see out, but others can see in and take note that there’s a new level of activity here, and feel safer because there are eyes on them.”

Current Events

A bright gold now adorns much of the exterior, and the familiar row of multiple, vertical signs that stretch across the side of the building facing the highway, once carrying illustrations of famous Hall of Fame inductees, remains, but is now being redesigned to match the new décor.

Onyx, owned and operated by Pappas and Spagnoli, has essentially become the facility’s showpiece. The Amherst-based architectural firm Kuhn Riddle handled much of the design, while California-based interior designer Julia Wong, whose work recently appeared on E! Entertainment Television, was brought in to create a cohesive visual flow throughout the 300-seat establishment.

“We’ve incorporated the ideas of imagination, elegance, and a journey,” said Pappas, weaving from the lobby, which features a glass ‘water wall,’ into the bar and lounge area, with its multi-screen video wall and amber onyx bar.

“The design is also ‘green,’ including low-flow water systems in the bathrooms and bamboo flooring,” he noted, adding that Onyx also offers free wireless access for patrons and will soon add an outdoor patio dining area.

Onyx opened for lunch recently, and the final addition to its repertoire, a coffee and smoothie bar during morning hours, will commence in conjunction with the grand opening of L.A. Fitness, in order to better integrate the two businesses.

The club includes an Olympic-sized pool, a full basketball court on the second floor overlooking the Hall of Fame, and multiple exercise, weight, and cardio rooms. Pappas said the club’s management has been pre-selling memberships for three months, and expects to welcome thousands of members.

All of this activity is a positive sign for Springfield, said Panagore, adding, however, that there’s still a long road ahead with regard to riverfront development.

“The project is going well, and with the hotel on one end and River’s Landing on the other, this is becoming a destination site in Springfield,” he said. “In terms of moving forward, we continue to have discussions about alternative uses for the visitors center — the original study talked about co-locating it within the Hall of Fame. We’re investigating how to better position that resource, so we can drive more visitors there.”

With the York Street Jail now razed, there is another major development opportunity on the riverfront that Panagore said the city is monitoring closely.

“We’re focusing on ensuring that anything happening at the site proceeds properly. We don’t want to be getting ourselves in a snarl, or tripping over ourselves,” he said. “ We’ll clear the site and start looking for development opportunities that complement those that are already down there.”

Panagore added that the riverfront offers what he calls “curb appeal” as seen from I-91, and to be truly successful, the area must not only attract new traffic but send that traffic farther down the road.

“The riverfront projects are initially important,” said Panagore, emphasizing the word ‘initially,’ “because they help bring people to Springfield and turn around the image of the city. People who would not otherwise come to Springfield now have a reason. But we really need to move some of that energy into the downtown, so our focus is on the entire core of the city.”

There are some challenges, however, in the move to better connect the riverfront to downtown, said Panagore. While he said the city is in the middle of “ongoing discussions” regarding the maintenance and renovation of the riverside walkway that runs parallel to the Connecticut River and extends from River’s Landing to the Memorial Bridge, there are some physical impediments.

“The state has a little less than $1 million earmarked to spruce up the walkway,” he said, “But Route 91 is always going to be a constriction. The underpasses between the riverfront and the downtown are also an issue, as is the railroad. Physical barriers naturally deter visitors from taking that route; we will try to put as good a face on it as possible.”

Still, many of these conversations relate to what Panagore said is over the next hill for Springfield, while other hurdles, the largest of which is the ‘old hall’ and what to do with it, have been cleared.

“Right now, we’re working on current successes,” he said. “There are always larger conversations about Springfield’s vision, but the work is well underway, and we’re getting up on our feet.”

Going Swimmingly

A diverse mix of activity on the waterfront, long a distant hope, is now becoming a reality for the City of Homes, and it has also provided a new venue for cuisine like Bancaco’s, which draws from his own traditions and is colored by those he’s learning more about in New England.

One of his favorites is the hazelnut mahi-mahi with Maine lobster hash, and he said he’s hoping to introduce even more of these ‘east-meets-west’-inspired creations to diners at the newly opened eatery.

“Pairing traditional ingredients and techniques with those that are modern is the best definition of the word ‘fusion,’” he said.

Watching servers and prep cooks bustle in a kitchen located where he once came to learn more about some of basketball’s greats, Pappas nodded in agreement.

Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at[email protected]