Page 6 - BusinessWest September 14 2020

Punching S
Back
Springfield Positions Itself to Bounce Back from COVID-19
By George O’Brien
pringfield Mayor Domenic Sarno noted that his city is certainly well-versed in dealing with natural and man- made disasters — everything from the tornado in June
2011 to the natural-gas explosion a year and a half later. “Battle-tested” was the phrase he used to describe a
community that has been though a lot over the past few decades.
But the COVID-19 pandemic ... this is a different kind of disaster.
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SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT BusinessWest
“It’s like shadow boxing in a lot of ways,” he said, using that phrase to essentially describe a foe that’s hard to hit and an exercise that amounts to punching air. “With those other disasters, I knew what hit us, and I knew how to jab back; with COVID-19, we don’t know when it’s going to go away, and we don’t know what’s going to happen next.”
But the city is certainly punching back against the pandemic, said the mayor and Tim Sheehan, the city’s chief Development officer, not- ing that it has undertaken initiatives aimed at everything from helping small businesses keep the doors open to assisting residents with pay- ing their mortgage, rent, and utility bills.
And while the pandemic has certainly cost the city some vital momentum, the development community, which usually takes a
long view, remains bullish on the city, said Sheehan, noting that there has been strong interest in projects ranging from the former School Department headquarters building on State Street to properties in the so-called ‘blast zone’ (damaged by that aforementioned natural-gas explosion), to buildings in the general vicinity of MGM Springfield in
At left, the new façade of
the Tower Square Hotel,
which expects to be under
the Marriott flag next spring. Above, Peter Picknelly, left, and Andy Yee are partnering in a restaurant project at the former Court Square Hotel property.