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Date: 11/17/2023
SPRINGFIELD — Justice may be blind, but even she probably can’t help but notice the poor condition of the Roderick J. Ireland Courthouse. If nothing else, the decades’ worth of demands for change from those working inside the 50-year-old hall of justice — and that occasional strange smell — had to have gotten her attention.
While justice may have taken notice, many state officials played blind — and deaf — to the issues at the courthouse at 50 State St., including mold and air quality concerns, for years. Now, however, the city and the county are a step closer to tangible evidence that a new courthouse is on the way.
The Healey-Driscoll administration announced on Nov. 15 the release of a request for proposals seeking of land for sale for the development of a new facility, which would house the Hampden County Superior Court, the Springfield District Court, the Hampden Probate and Family Court, the Western Housing Court, the Hampden Juvenile Court, the Hampden District Attorney’s Office and the Hampden County Registry of Deeds. Interested landowners must submit their bids to the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, operating on behalf of the Massachusetts Trial Court, by 2 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2024.
“In addition to meeting practical judicial needs, the Springfield Justice Center will be a civic monument for the local community,” said DCAMM Commissioner Adam Baacke. “We look forward to identifying the right location for this important project that will catalyze continued growth and development in the city and demonstrate our commitment to decarbonization.”
Specifically, the RFP seeks parcels of at least 2 acres and no more than 5 acres on which a 350,000-400,000-square-foot courthouse can be built. Owners of property measuring more than 5 acres can also submit a bid, but it must specify the subdivision being offered to the state; the landowner would retain ownership of the remaining acreage.
The RFP represents follow through on the part of the governor, who stated over the summer that her “administration envisions the Springfield court complex as an opportunity to build a courthouse of the future” while including $106 million in the administration’s fiscal year 2024-28 Capital Improvement Plan toward planning for said courthouse.
The Hampden County Hall of Justice was originally built in the early 1970s. It was renamed in 2017 in honor of Ireland, a Springfield native who served as the first Black chief justice on the Massachusetts Judicial Court from 2010 to 2014.
In 2021, Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni evacuated his staff from the building due to environmental concerns, as did Register of Deeds Cheryl Coakley-Rivera. Coakley-Rivera subsequently filed a lawsuit in 2022 that resulted in a settlement the required DCAMM complete a site assessment and feasibility study for the renovation of the existing structure or construction of a new courthouse, and “dehumidification” and cleaning of the current building. The results of the cleaning project were met with additional complaints and dissatisfaction.
In response to the announcement of the RFP, Gulluni stated, “In August of 2021, the conditions in the courthouse reached an untenable state, which prompted me to evacuate my staff from the building. After that, a cascade of events finally led to a spotlight on the dangerous and unsuitable conditions in that building that had existed for a long time. I applaud Gov. Healey and her administration for hearing the call from the Western Massachusetts community that we need and deserve a new justice complex that meets the needs of the general public and the employees who work on their behalf.”
Coakley-Rivera said she was pleased to see progress toward long-term goals but stressed serious concerns persist in the interim.
“I’m happy that this administration sees how important it is, but I am still very concerned about the employees in that building,” she said. “A new courthouse won’t be ready for seven to 10 years, and that’s if everything goes smoothly. In the meantime, we have employees breathing in, in my opinion, contaminated air.”
Coakley-Rivera noted there was language in the settlement for ongoing mitigation of the conditions and the state is currenrly surveying current and former employees who worked in the building, but she did now know the status of those efforts. She added that OSHA regulations do not apply to state and local government workers. Massachusetts is one of six states with an OSHA-approved state plan specifically for these employees.
In May, DCAMM released the Springfield Courts Complex Relocation Assessment report in which it identified 13 potential sites — state and privately owned — including the current courthouse location.
The 50 State St. property was deemed the highest-ranking site, followed by 125 Liberty St., currently the site of a medical building. Other Springfield locations that graded favorably were 255 Liberty St., 1400-1414 State St. — the site of the former Vibra Hospital and Springfield Isolation Hospital — and the land currently occupied by a plaza at the corner of Allen and Cooley streets in the city’s Outer Belt neighborhood. The city recently announced it had acquired the State Street property with the intent of redeveloping it. The 225 Liberty St. parcel is only 1.23 acres, according to the city’s records.
DCAMM made it clear in last week’s RFP announcement that that report would have “no bearing” on the RFP or review process as “no site has been prioritized or ruled out.”
DCAMM and the Massachusetts Trial Court will evaluate each proposal based on three categories — site characteristics and context compatible with a justice center; complexity and length of time of acquisition; and acquisition costs and financial benefits. Once the preferred site is identified, DCAMM conduct an additional review of the site before purchasing the property and preparing it for construction.
Mayor Domenic Sarno has been an advocate for a plan unveiled in June 2022 by local businessman and real estate developer Peter Picknelly for a North End riverfront project. Picknelly, through his Opal development company, sent letters to DCAMM and then-Gov. and Lt. Gov. Charlie Baker and Karyn Polito proposing the project that could cost upwards of $300 million and would include an 11-story residential center with 120 to 180 one-and two-bedroom apartments with first floor retail and restaurant space and a 50-slip marina in addition to the courthouse. The property under that proposal would be accessible via Avocado Street.
Sarno reiterated his support for this plan in a statement to Reminder Publishing. “I want to thank the Healy-Driscoll administration and DCAMM for their commitment to keeping and building a new court house here in Springfield. The employees, staff and visitors deserve a new state-of-the-art court facility. On that note, my administration stands ready to work with our preferred site location along our north riverfront area in our North End neighborhood. This has the potential to be truly transformational and a gamechanger for our city. with 14 acres of land, which is unheard of for a city our size, can not only provide the state with the land area they need for a new court house facility but also provide much-needed supporting amenities such as housing, restaurants, a marina by the river and parking with well over 700 spaces. This location is also just a stone throws away from a major regional transportation hub in Union Station too,” he said.
The mayor added, “Also, in speaking with Adam Baacke, commissioner of DCAMM, who also served as the former director of planning and development and assistant city manager for the city of Lowell, he understands the importance a project such as this could have upon our city and appreciated my thoughts that this would be a catalyst for economic development, housing and neighborhood projects in our North Riverfront area too.”
State Rep. Angelo Puppolo (D-Springfield) also supported the North End riverfront concept. In July, he sent a letter to then-DCAMM Commissioner Carol Gladstone, calling it an “ideal home” for a new hall of justice.
Coakley-Rivera opined that a private development could be a safer and more efficient solution for replacing the courthouse. “The state doesn’t have a good track record with taking care of its buildings,” she said. She cited the North End proposal as the only one currently proposed, but would in interested in hearing other plans as well.
Days later, City Council President Jesse Lederman and Vice President Melvin Edwards sent a letter of their own asking the state to consider construction plans that could allow for a new Hampden County hall of justice to be combined with a new headquarters for the Springfield Police Department, but did not identify a specific site. Lederman noted that the city of Springfield has been considering the need for a new police headquarters since 2015, due to “operational limitations” and “lack of ability to meet modern policing and national accreditation standards,” while Edwards opined, “The potential of a combined public safety headquarters could be a win-win for the commonwealth and for the city of Springfield both financially and operationally.”
City Councilor at-Large Sean Curran, who as a state representative filed legislation for a new courthouse in 2013, has previously pitched splitting the courthouse functions in a similar fashion to Hampshire County. His ideas included putting departments such as the Registry of Probate and Registry of Deeds on the waterfront as part of a mixed-use development in partnership with a private developer.