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Date: 8/11/2021
SPRINGFIELD – A purchase of three properties has divided members of the City Council.
The Sarno Administration announced on Aug. 3 it planned to buy through the Springfield Redevelopment Authority 113-115 State St., 1139-1155 Main St., and 11-21 Stockbridge St. for the sum of $2.75 million. The city used American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for the purchase.
113-115 State St. is the commercial block at the corner of State and Main streets. 1139-1155 Main St. is a mixed-use building next to the first parcel. 11-21 Stockbridge St. is a commercial building.
All three buildings are across Main Street from MGM Springfield. The purchase was made to allow economic development to continue in the area, according to Chief Development Officer Timothy Sheehan.
Sheehan said in a written statement, “The City/SRA’s proactive acquisition of these properties has thwarted the adverse impacts of further speculative investment in the real estate surrounding MGM-Springfield from occurring. Going forward the City / SRA will ensure that these important properties will be reintroduced to the market in a manner consistent with their importance to the economic vitality of the area immediately surrounding the casino and the development objectives of the Main Street & Convention Center Master Plan as approved by the City Council.”
Both City Council President Marcus Williams and Councilor Michael Fenton made statements supporting the purchase.
Williams said, “The transformation of the downtown corridor will continue to be a work in progress and this is another sizable step in activating spaces that have needed attention for quite some time. To attract businesses, investment and people, we need to have a thriving downtown district and I am appreciative of the efforts made on all fronts to acquire these properties for future rehabilitation.”
Fenton added, “The future development of this area is critical to growing a thriving downtown. I am thrilled that we are able to acquire these strategic properties. It is an exciting time for our City and I look forward to seeing new life breathed into this corridor between MGM and the MassMutual Center.”
City Councilor Justin Hurst disagreed and issued the following statement: “Using 2.75 million dollars of the American and Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding in downtown Springfield to purchase three properties for redevelopment in alignment with the Main Street and Convention Center Master Plan is a smack in the face to the many communities outside of the metro center who are reeling from the impacts of the pandemic.
“The city of Springfield has received roughly a 100 million dollars in (ARPA) funding and the first major investment is to enhance downtown as though other communities are not suffering. The administration has already invested millions in downtown in the wake of the casino, which has only served to elevate rents and drive out small and minority business that had been there for years. The end result: vacant storefronts, which is why a Main Street and Convention Center Master Plan was deemed necessary in the first place.
“The purpose of (ARPA) funding is not to buy foreclosed properties to gentrify our downtown and ensure that preferred developers with direct connections to the administration benefit. The intent of this funding is to support Covid 19 response efforts, strengthen support for vital public services and help retain jobs, support immediate economic stabilization for households and businesses, and address systemic public health and economic challenges that have contributed to the unequal impact of the pandemic(https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-governments/state-and-local-fiscal-recovery-funds). The purchase of these three properties fail to meet any of the objectives for this funding and only make the administration the “questionable investor” that Mayor Sarno argues he was trying to prevent from buying and developing this property in the first place.”
He concluded, “All neighborhoods must have a say when it comes to spending this money. Input from citizens and business who are suffering as a result of the pandemic is critical and decisions to spend millions of dollars made in isolation, like this one, must be scrutinized at the highest level. If the administration is insistent upon buying these properties, then it should be done with a funding source that is not designed to benefit those who need it most.”