Page 34 - BusinessWest August 19, 2024

Bill Low expects the auction for the Paramount property to draw a good amount of interest.
Staff Photo
Sheehan agreed.
“Everyone keeps talking about performance space, but how much performance space is a city the size of Springfield going to be able to support?” he asked rhe- torically. “You have Symphony Hall, you have the MassMutual Center. You have MGM, with smaller venues ... I’m just not certain you can get positive cash flow out of performance space of that size.”
But he noted that there are other projects in various stages of development in that area, including recently announced plans to convert the floors above the Stu- dent Prince Café and the Fort into condominiums (see related story on page 35), and the Paramount could be another building block on that section of Main Street and possible catalyst for still more development.
For this issue and its focus on commercial real estate, we look at how the upcoming auction has cast the Paramount property back into the spotlight, and also why this property with a rich past has so many question marks about its future.
Back in the Spotlight
The marketing language created by L&P Commercial for the Paramount prop- erty when it was on the market speaks to everything from its history and architec- tural significance to the challenges that await those who might want to take this
on.“This endeavor calls for dreamers, history enthusiasts, and architects of the future,” it reads. “Whether you envision a cultural center, boutique hotel, great thriving entertainment hub, this restoration project awaits your touch. Embrace your opportunity to make your mark on history while preserving the city’s rich his- tory. Take the first step toward creating a lasting legacy.”
There has been little if any interest among those who have toured the property to take that first step, said Low, adding that this reality helps explains why the property is now going to auction.
“We just got to the point where we couldn’t find the right buyer,” he told Busi- nessWest. “It’s a massive undertaking; most of the interest was in the hotel, with people then saying, ‘now what do we do with the theater?’”
By now, most know at least some of the Paramount’s history. Opened in 1926,
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Paramount
Continued from page 32
Council paid for it in 2011, with plans to author the next chapter in its history — plans that never materialized, due in part to COVID, but also to market conditions and the high degree of difficulty associated with the project.
The low initial bid price might be another indicator of just how complex and difficult a project this is, but Low also suspects it was set to “generate some action.”
And he believes there will be a good amount of action, but just what it will translate into remains to be seen. The theater portion of the property remains an extreme challenge, he said, not merely because of the high price tag (which has been prohibitive for many of the arts-related groups that have toured the property), but because of the need within the marketplace for another performance venue — or lack thereof.
it was, for decades, all those things listed in the L&P description — a cul- tural center, thriving hotel, and enter-
Paramount
Continued on page 36
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