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Date: 11/9/2022
SPRINGFIELD – From restoration projects to community-led endeavors, the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) approves a slew of projects annually from Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding. The City Council approved the CPC’s 2022 projects during an Oct. 12 special meeting.
The CPC approves CPA funding on a yearly basis, with the act’s creation aiding projects that help preserve the character of the community. The existence of the CPC and the CPA are byproducts of the City Council’s decision-making, according to CPC Chair Robert McCarroll. The CPA funds derive from a local tax surcharge of less than 3 percent, along with a state match given to all CPA communities. The CPA fund continues to increase as property values, assessment and the state’s contribution continue to rise.
“The state significantly upped its matches to CPA communities about a year and a half ago … The state contribution this past year was over $500,000,” said McCarroll.
The Springfield CPC is entering its fifth year of operation and has so far approved more than 50 projects totaling $10 million.
The CPC in Springfield encompasses volunteer members who represent the city’s Conservation Commission, Historical Commission, Planning Board, Park Commission, Springfield Housing Authority, Springfield Preservation Trust Inc. and three neighborhood appointees.
McCarroll presented the CPC’s 16 recommend projects to the council, which total $2.7 million in expenses. The CPC’s 2022 slate includes a diverse array of projects. Some, like a $108,075 CPA contribution toward affordable homeownership in Forest Park as a part of the Springfield Office of Housing and Disaster Recovery, fund equitable home ownership programs by restoring dilapidated properties.
“Once it’s completed, it will be sold to an income eligible owner,” said McCarroll when discussing the Forest Park housing project.
Many of the 2022 CPC recommendations focused on entrenched community spaces. McCarroll discussed a $182,000 CPA-funded project for Bay Path Cemetery improvements, $250,000 in external repairs for the D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, $181,000 for adding a floral park at the Florentine Gardens and $250,000 for Hennessy Park improvements.
Speaking on the Hennessy Park project, McCarroll said the CPA funding will add additional amenities in the property, like sidewalks and benches.
“It is to put additional amenities in the park, such as a sitting pavilion, benches, trash receptacles and new sidewalks,” said McCarroll.
The CPC also continued to fund restoration projects as a part of their Historic Homes Restoration Program. The $250,000 in CPA funding will be distributed with grants up to $30,000 for seven historic homes located in the Forest Park Heights, McKnight, Maple Hill, Ridgewood, Lower Maple, Quadrangle-Mattoon and Colony Hills communities.
“It will provide grants up to $30,000 for exterior work, which is limited to restoration of original windows and doors, installation of energy-efficient storm windows, restoration of porches and exterior painting,” said McCarroll.
Other CPC recommendations, like the $500,000 toward Gemini Townhomes, aid ongoing projects in the city. The $500,000 will aid the $21.2 million project that will develop 40 affordable homeownership units at the former Gemini factory site in the South End of Springfield. The project will target first time homebuyers in an attempt to diversify the neighborhood and increase owner occupancy in the area, according to McCarroll.
Below is the complete list of CPC recommended projects and their CPA expenditures.
The City Council approved each item in unanimous votes. The application for 2023 CPA funding will be made available in February 2023.
Readers can learn more about the CPC and their 2022 CPA funding at https://www.springfield-ma.gov/finance/community-preservation.