Springfield Infill and Small Developments

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Springfield to rezone parts of northeast downtown to attract new developers

At least five businesses have proposed Springfield courthouse projects in the corridor.
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The city is hoping to rezone at least 25 different parcels as part of the urban renewal plan that will give some much needed attention to the northeast downtown corridor around Liberty, Chestnut and Lyman streets.
The proposal, which will be taken up by the Planning Board on Wednesday, calls for the zoning to be changed from the existing Industrial A to Business B. The change will take away the possibility of heavy industry being located along the corridor but add in housing and transportation-related businesses as permitted uses, said Philip Dromey, deputy director of planning.
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Of the 11 proposals for a new courthouse in Springfield, at least five developers have submitted plans to build the roughly $600 million building in and around the corridor. One of them, auto dealer James E. “Jeb” Balise Jr., has bought property far beyond the footprint needed for the courthouse and has said he plans other development whether his project is selected or not. In addition, the renewal of Union Station as a transportation hub has increased interest in the area, Sheehan said.
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Springfield hoping to boost downtown development with zone change

Much of the property around Union Station was zoned for heavy industry.
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A vote taken this week could lead to a major transformation of the mostly forgotten northeast section of downtown and the potential development of as many as 1,500 homes.
The City Council voted 9-0 Monday to rezone roughly 26 different parcels of land from industrial to business. The largest number of lots were on Lyman and Liberty streets with others on Chestnut, Main, Worthington, Spring, Winter and Frank B. Murray streets.
The area — which is next to Union Station and is scattered with empty lots, vacant buildings and a mix of automotive shops, restaurants and other businesses — was the subject of a 2022 study that determined it ripe for redevelopment.
“Despite numerous economic and physical setbacks over the years, including major fires and the 2012 gas explosion that damaged dozens of buildings in the core of the district, the area holds tremendous potential for redevelopment as a transit-oriented neighborhood,” Timothy Sheehan, chief economic development officer for the city, told the City Council.
Specifically, the spot, within a quarter-mile of Union Station, has great potential for a mix of residential development that can include large market-rate and mixed-income apartment buildings, condominiums and row houses, but the problem is the industrial zoning does not allow permit any type of housing, while business designation allows a much larger mix of residential and business uses.
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Springfield seeking developers to build on final lots made vacant by 2011 tornado​

New housing is planned for lots wiped out 15 years ago by one of the region’s worst disasters. A tornado carved a $138 million, 6.2 mile path of destruction through the city in 2011. Now, a plan to sell five lots that were in the storm’s path will insert some of the final pieces into the puzzle of redevelopment.
The city is taking advantage of the last lots left in the wake of the storm to create home ownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income families, said Tina Quagliato Sullivan, deputy development director who headed up the recovery efforts in the years following the tornado.
The project will spend the last of the disaster recovery money granted by the federal Community Development Block Grant program to develop what are considered infill parcels, or housing lots scattered throughout the city made vacant for a variety of reasons. In this case, the buildings at the addresses were damaged beyond repair by the storm, Quagliato Sullivan said.
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The request for proposals is asking for bids for properties at 25, 33 and 47 Richelieu St. and 96 Marble St., all in the South End, and 105 Pine St. in the Maple High-Six Corners neighborhood. The process is open to developers who want all five properties or those who just want to build one home, Quagliato Sullivan said.
“This is unique. The city had a designer draft construction plans for the homes. This is the first time we have done that,” she said.
It has also taken other steps to save builders time and money. For example, the city has already received a zoning variance for the lot on 33 Richelieu, which is large enough for a home but does not meet frontage requirements to make it buildable. All the properties have gone through a site plan review and have been assigned street numbers which vacant lots do not usually have, Quagliato Sullivan said.
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