Page 12 - BusinessWest August 22, 2022

Mayor Domenic Sarno sees progress on many fronts in Springfield after a tumultuous past couple of years.
Elaborating, he said the current surface lot will be public space that
the Convention Center Authority will lease out for various kinds of functions, bringing more people downtown.
Meanwhile, a new entrance to the MassMutual Center will be added at the corner of State and Main streets, providing the facility with two points of entry and, with this new addition, what the mayor likened to a “Broadway mar- quee,” a much stronger bridge to MGM Springfield and other businesses south of the arena.
“One of the critical elements of our master plan involves finding ways to activate both of our anchors downtown — MGM Springfield and the conven-
tion center itself,” said Sheehan. “And one critical missing piece to that was always the southern entrance to the MassMutual Center, and now, that’s being addressed.”
That new entrance may help spur development of several vacant or underutilized properties across Main Street from the MGM casino, said Sarno, adding that requests for propos- als to redevelop these properties, now under city control, will be issued soon.
These developments, coupled with the ongoing renovation of 31 Elm St., the former Court Square Hotel, into market-rate apartments due to be ready for occupancy in roughly a year, are expected to create more interest in Springfield and its downtown within the development community, said the mayor, noting, again, that needed piec- es are coming together.
“One of the critical elements of our master plan involves finding ways to activate both of our anchors downtown — MGM Springfield and the convention center itself. And one critical missing piece to that was always the southern entrance to the MassMutual Center, and now, that’s being addressed.”
These pieces include housing, which will create a larger population
of people living in the downtown; res- taurants and other hospitality-related businesses, a broad category that includes MGM Springfield, restaurants, and the Thunderbirds; and a vibrant business community.
Individual pieces coming into
place include not only 31 Elm, but the recently opened housing in the former Willys-Overland building on Chestnut Street; some new restaurants and clubs on and around Worthington Street, including Dewey’s Lounge, the Del Raye, and Jackalope; and the planned new Big Y supermarket (see story on page 17), which will address a recog- nized need in what has long been rec- ognized as a food desert.
Staying Power
Then, there’s Tower Square and the Marriott flag that has been returned to the hotel several years after it was lost.
As he talked with BusinessWest about the two years worth of renova-
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AUGUST 22, 2022
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
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