Page 17 - BusinessWest November 24, 2025

“We believe we’re
ready to move
as fast or faster
than anyone.
We’ve got a fully
formed team that
has built basically
the last several
courthouses
to the state’s
specifications and
satisfactions, so
there will be no
learning curve for
anyone involved.
And we have a site
that is basically
shovel-ready.”
town, we can bring new energy and life to the area while revitaliz-
ing the surrounding neighborhood. Just as important, our proposal
prioritizes the health, safety, and well-being of everyone who works
and visits the new courthouse, giving Springfield the modern facil-
ity it deserves.”
Building Momentum
But other developers were more open about their proposals
and willing to tout their attributes.
Irving said both Davenport/HYM proposals have merits. The
second, for the building that once housed the Mardi Gras strip
club, is just a block from Union Station, he noted, adding that a
courthouse on that location could provide a substantial boost to
that section of the downtown.
But the group’s other school of thought was that moving the
courthouse from its current location would be devastating for the
city’s downtown, so it submitted two plans.
“We said, let’s give the state its choice,” he noted. “But the best
thing we’re offering to DCAMM is the depth of our development
experience. Between a massive company like HYM, which has
done work for DCAMM around the state, and Davenport, which
has vast experience in Springfield, I think we bring a team that
can deliver, and I think that’s the biggest issue for this project —
who can deliver. The state needs this to be done on budget and on
time, and we can do that.”
Meanwhile, Paul Picknelly gushed about the proposal submit-
ted by Monarch Enterprises for the property he owns at 55 State
St. — and the team behind it.
That team includes Finegold Alexander, a women-owned archi-
tecture firm that has designed several courthouses, including the
one in Lowell, as well as the one under design in Framingham;
Springfield-based Fontaine Construction, which has a deep port-
folio of projects in the city, including the MassMutual Center and
the Court Square apartment complex, a block from the current
courthouse; Dimeo Construction, which built the courthouse in
Lowell and is currently building the one in Framingham (Fontaine
and Dimeo recently collaborated to build the new Doherty Memo-
rial High School in Worcester); and Westmass Area Development
Corp., chosen to see oversee redevelopment of the existing court-
house site.
Picknelly and David Fontaine Jr., president of Fontaine Con-
struction, talked about what they consider to be a strong case for
their proposal, including everything from design (it bears a strong
likeness to the Lowell courthouse, also built vertically) to how
quickly their concept could move from demolition to construction,
to its location across the street from the current courthouse —
proximity, they say, that brings everything from familiarity to bet-
ter odds for successful redevelopment of the existing courthouse
when it is demolished.
“We believe we’re ready to move as fast or faster than anyone,”
Fontaine said. “We’ve got a fully formed team that has built basical-
ly the last several courthouses to the state’s specifications and sat-
isfactions, so there will be no learning curve for anyone involved.
And we have a site that is basically shovel-ready.”
Even parking, a consideration for all proposals and a problem
for some, won’t be an issue for the 55 State St. site, said Pick-
nelly, who referred to his recent call for jury duty at the Springfield
courthouse to get his point across.
“It instructs me to park in the I-91 South lot,” he said, referring
to the facility under the highway, adding that these instructions
won’t change if the courthouse is built at 55 State St.
New Lease on Life
The Springfield Regional Justice Center will be the largest
undertaking by the state when it comes to using a private develop-
er to build a facility and then leasing it. But this method has been
used with many facilities, including smaller courthouses, such as
the one in Westfield.
“The state has about 7.5 million square feet under lease across
the Commonwealth, including dozens of properties on behalf of
the Trial Court,” Baacke explained, adding that what makes the
Springfield project unique is its scope and the length of the lease.
Approved by the state’s Asset Management Board, which autho-
rizes leases longer than 10 years, the 40-year commitment was
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