Page 19 - BusinessWest November 24, 2025

“I definitely wouldn’t
say there’s no risk,
but I think that, with a
high-credit, long-term
lease, you’ve solved a
lot of the risk in real
estate development.
It’s a smart strategy
for the state to get
what it wants, a nice
new facility, and
not take the risk on
construction overruns
and instead push that
to the developer.”
KEVIN SHEEHAN
execution risk from construction of the
building.
“So I definitely wouldn’t say there’s
no risk, but I think that, with a high-
credit, long-term lease, you’ve solved
a lot of the risk in real estate develop-
ment,” he went on. “It’s a smart strategy
for the state to get what it wants, a nice
new facility, and not take the risk on
construction overruns and instead push
that to the developer.”
Heavy Wait
Getting back to the factors that will
ultimately decide which proposal is
chosen, Baacke said there will be sev-
eral, from the proposed lease terms to
accessibility; from meeting the state’s
decarbonization and climate goals to a
project’s ability to positively impact the
city economically.
“We do want this project to be a ben-
efit to the city of Springfield,” he told BusinessWest. “As a former
gateway city planner myself, I know this is the kind of facility that
can be influential in attracting people to an area. It can have a
positive impact, and it can also have, if it’s placed in the wrong
location, a negative impact on areas that benefit from the loca-
tion of the current facility.
“The biggest factors in selecting the best proposal are going
to be about how the proposal aligns with the needs of the Trial
Court,” he explained. “And that’s a little bit about siting, but
more about the design of the facility and how well it meets the
program and is consistent with their expectations for a hall of
justice.”
And then, there’s the cost.
“This is not going to be a decision that is made on which proj-
An architect’s rendering of the planned new State Police
crime lab in Marlborough, another large undertaking to be
built by a private developer and leased to the state.
ect is cheapest, but which project delivers the best value to the
Commonwealth,” Baacke continued. “The project that has the
strongest alignment with the needs of the Trial Court, at the best
price available to the Commonwealth, is what we’re ultimately
going to be looking for.”
Which proposal best does all that will be decided over the
next several months.
Now comes what may the hardest part of this process — wait-
ing for a decision. BW
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