City Council considers $3.7 million redevelopment of Court Square
Date: 12/10/2012
By G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.comSPRINGFIELD — The Planning and Economic Development Committee of the City Council approved an appropriation order on Dec. 6 that will allow work to begin on the renovation of the Court Square building.
If approved by the whole council, $3.7 million will be used by the city to acquire the buildings at on lower State Street from the corner of State and Main streets that are in the rear of the Court Square building. Brian Connors of the Planning and Economic Development Department explained to City Councilors Kenneth Shea and Bud Williams that the businesses in those buildings will be relocated, any asbestos will be removed and the buildings will be demolished.
Chief Administrative and Finance Officer Lee Erdmann told the councilors the city has several bonding options as well as using Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursements to fund the action. Even with the anticipated cut in state aid, Erdmann said the city "can pay it back on a reasonable schedule."
Connors explained that what will then be built on the site is a parking garage for about 200 cars, which he said was necessary for the Court Square project to be successful.
Demetrios Panteleakis, the co-founder and COO of Opal Real Estate Group, the preferred for the building, explained the $22.7 million project is one of "complete historic preservation." He said that all of the woodwork and marble would be removed from the building, cataloged and stored on-site. Once renovations are complete, these elements will go back into the building in their original locations.
He said the project has gone through 72 revisions to meet the requirements of the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the National Park Service. The result is that "every aspect [of the renovation] has been designed and approved."
He said that such a renovation was complicated, but the historic tax credits that are associated with the project make it affordable. For years, people speculated the building, built in 1892, could be transformed into a mixed-use structure with condominiums and a boutique hotel. Panteleakis said that such a plan would not include the historic tax credits and would be too expensive.
Instead, the building would return to its original use as an office building with retail on the ground floor. Panteleakis said that retail would be "practical" and he hopes to attract a restaurant with bar, a coffee shop, a cobbler and a barbershop. These businesses would serve the tenants and their clients as well as other people downtown, he added.
He and city officials will also seek other tax credits and would apply to the City Council for tax increment financing for the building.
Williams called the renovation "long over-due" and added, "Without this development it would be extremely difficult to entice other individuals to come downtown to invest."
