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Date: 3/19/2015
SPRINGFIELD – The restoration and reuse of three historic building and the creation of the Innovation District Center are among the projects currently under way at Develop Springfield.
Jay Minkarah, the president and CEO of the non-profit development organization, updated the status of the projects for Reminder Publications.
Gun Hall, the block at the corner of State and Walnut streets, was built around 1830 and has been vacant for several years. Minkarah said the building represents “the most challenging due to the extent of the work.”
The three-story building had a bar on the first floor and apartments on the second and third floors. What the contractors hired by Develop Springfield have done is to focus on remediation – removing asbestos from the building. This has proven more labor intensive than usual, as the asbestos was mixed into the paint on the walls. Minkarah said that normally one would simply remove the wall itself, but because the walls are made with the split lathe technique which was abandoned in the mid-19th century, they have had to scrape the affected plaster by hand carefully not to disturb the lathe.
With the end of winter, the next step is further stabilizing the building. Minkarah said the goal is to finish the work by mid-2016. He would like to see a coffee house or restaurant – a business to serve Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) and the Technology Park across the street – on the first floor and apartments on the upper two floors.
Interior work on the Ansel Phelps/Solymon Merrick house at 83 Maple St. is the next step for that structure. The exterior restoration is almost completed, Minkarah said. The porches, roof and chimney were all replaced or repaired and 35 windows installed.
Next door, at 77 Maple St., Develop Springfield bought the historic female seminary building that the Springfield Preservation Trust had started restoring. Additional work has begun on that structure.
Develop Springfield purchased the lot behind 83 Maple St. and the former carriage house and garages at 69 Maple St. Minkarah said the goal of the restoration and redevelopment of all of these buildings is to create a “historic business park.”
He said, “It’s really going to transform that whole area.”
Develop Springfield bought 270-276 Bridge St., which are two of the four building in what was known as the Trinity Block. The four buildings share a common façade, and Minkarah said the intent is to rehab those two buildings into the Springfield Innovation Center.
“This is very exciting for us,” he said.
The center will be the focal point for the Springfield Innovation District, an area that includes the current Worthington Street Entertainment District, as well as the area that was affected by the November 2012 gas explosion.
Develop Springfield has been one of the groups involved in the planning of the district and said the new center would be the home of the Valley Ventures mentoring program on the second floor while the first floor will be an area for functions and presentations. There will be additional area that could be the home for new companies and entrepreneurs.
Minkarah predicted the center would create “a whole lot of activity, a whole lot of buzz.”
Develop Springfield is also still pursuing the creation of a full service grocery store on State Street opposite the STCC Technology Park. He explained the acquisition of the property as well as finding a supermarket company to be the tenant are among the challenges for that project.
The organization has also been active in helping to bring new single-family homes to Central Street in the Maple High Six Corners neighborhood, Minkarah said. The organization had purchased the property on which three new homes have been built. By doing so, the title and environmental issues that required being addressed were done so prior to the start of the Request for Proposals to solicit developers for the homes.
Minkarah said this strategy saves time for the developer and the project. He added Develop Springfield might consider doing additional housing lots in the future.