Page 26 - BusinessWest June 27, 2022

Development and Opal Development, to MGM Springfield.
Another challenge is implied in that phrase ‘historical renovation.’ Indeed, the property, which dates to the 1890s, is on several lists of historic properties, said Karl Beaumier, on-site superintendent for the project, adding that, in many respects, crews from Fontaine are disman- tling what was in place in the old hotel rooms and other spaces, storing those pieces, and put-
“I joked that I believe I’m the third generation of Fontaines to bid on the project. We’ve been pricing it over decades, with at least a dozen iterations and many different planned uses.”
rail, the crown molding — all of that stuff got saved; there are 10 40-foot conex boxes (shipping contain- ers) completely full of sal- vaged woodwork that has to go back in the building.
“It’s been carefully removed, catalogued, and stored,” he went on. “It will all go back as part of the historical renovation.”
For this issue and its focus on construction, BusinessWest took a hard- hat tour of the property, and talked with Fontaine and Beaumier about the massive undertaking and the steps still to come.
Past Due
As they started their
tour on the ground floor
of the property, most
recently home to several storefronts and eventu- ally to be the site of a restaurant, Beaumier and Fontaine said that for the on-site crews, going to work each day also means going back in time.
Or to several different times, to be more precise.
Indeed, on the ground floor, the areas housing the storefronts bear evidence of their former uses, especially the space that was home to the tavern known as the Bar Association, a name chosen to reference the many clients from the legal commu- nity, many with offices within a block or so from
ting them back after mechanicals, equipment, and appliances are installed and finishing work is completed. Everything that goes into the reno- vated structure, including new windows (600 of them) must be reviewed by the National Park Service.
“We salvaged a tremendous amount of the wainscoting on the corridors — some of it was left here, some of it came off and it’s going back on,” said Beaumier. “All of the doors were salvaged, the door frames, the door cases, the window cases on all the exterior windows, the baseboard, the chair
This view out one of the windows on the sixth floor explains why there has always been interest in converting the property for residential use.
the courthouse just south of the Court Square property.
“It was like things were stuck in time from the late ’80s,” said Fontaine, noting such items as the stained-glass window in the Bar Association and a door that still had the ‘R’ from owner Tony Ravos- sa’s name. “It’s cool seeing the old storefronts.”
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26 JUNE 27, 2022
CONSTRUCTION
BusinessWest
Staff Photo