Page 17 - BusinessWest April 28, 2021

The property across Main Street from MGM Springfield remains underutilized and largely vacant, despite expectations the casino would prompt greater vibrancy.
the level that we can, the value of those leases,” he explained, “so that we don’t ultimately experi- ence a huge negative devaluation in the commer- cial real-estate market.”
The process, already underway, starts with understanding the needs on both sides of the equation, meaning landlord and tenant, he went on, adding that some business sectors are doing better than others, with service and hospitality (those businesses relying on direct interaction with the public) faring the worst.
Overall, the city could access as much as $127 million in Rescue Act funds, depending on how
the ‘county’ portion of the award is allocated, said Sheehan, adding that city officials are hav- ing discussions with the those at the Treasury Department about how they can be deployed.
Speaking in general terms, which is all he can really do at this point, he said the broad goal of this latest round of funding will be to provide a “softer landing” to the wild, turbulent ride COVID has given the city, which differentiates this round from the funding provided in the CARES Act in 2020.
“With the CARES Act funding, we were in the throes of the virus and the public-health orders
associated with it,” he explained. “That funding was basically to alleviate the distress. With this round, it’s about how we’re going to rebuild after the virus and bring the economy back to ... not necessarily what we had before, but, hopefully, even better.
“The CARES Act was wound triage,” he went on. “The funding that we’re dealing with in terms of the rescue plan is more post-operative care — that’s the analogy you would use.”
“With this round, it’s about
how we’re going to rebuild after the virus and bring the economy back to ... not necessarily what we had before, but, hopefully, even better.”
Forward Thinking
While the city has been mostly living within the moment during the pandemic and dealing with the day to day, planning for the future has gone on, again, with an eye toward enabling the city to emerge from the pandemic with an oppor- tunity to seize whatever opportunities present
Springfield
Continued on page 56
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