SPRINGFIELD — With the state trying to fast-track the construction of a new court in the city, residents and officials are asking about the fate of the existing Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse.
During a packed meeting last week designed to discuss a wide variety of issues about the plan to have the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance commission a private developer to build the courthouse and then lease it for a long term, many said they are concerned it will leave a vacant, hulking building behind in a key downtown location.
“Are there any plans at the moment on the current site?” City Councilor Jose Delgado asked. “I don’t want that site to just sit there vacant for who knows how long. It is a pretty important site for downtown.”
The courthouse is in poor condition and termed a “sick building” after an alarming number of employees have been diagnosed with serious illnesses, most notably, five who died of ALS. But its location at 50 State St. is also in the heart of the city’s business district as well as being adjacent to City Hall, Symphony Hall and MGM Springfield.
Adam Baacke, commissioner of the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, which is overseeing the project, said there are no plans to try to renovate or raze and rebuild on that location, but he said all proposals from private developers, even one that would be on the current location, would be considered.
The state is on track to put out a request for proposals in June to ask developers to come forward to build a new about 330,000-square-foot courthouse to replace the Springfield building and the neighboring probate and housing court.
The state would then lease the building under a 40-year agreement with two additional 10-year options. A public-private partnership would allow construction to start as early as 2026. If the state were to wait until the $640 million estimated to be needed for construction were available in the capital budget, it would take an extra three to eight years, Baacke sad.
Even with the state paying an estimated $30 million a year in rent, which would increase to $38 million over the 40-year lease, there would still be an estimated cost savings of $153.84 million over the lifetime of the project, division officials said.
“We do not have specific plans and I think it would be inappropriate for the state to impose specific plans on that property, even though it is state owned,” Baacke said about the existing courthouse.
In other communities, the state has turned over unneeded property over to local governments to take over the redevelopment, he said.
In cases where the community does not want to run the redevelopment, the state has taken different paths to reuse the property, Baacke said.
“We really look forward to working closely with representatives from the city of Springfield and other interested stakeholders to envision what the future of that property should be,” he said.
The city is currently creating a master plan for the area, which includes the adjacent Old First Church as well as the courthouse, said Timothy Sheehan, economic development director for the city.
“With regards to the existing courthouse we have had some preliminary conversations with (the state),” he said. “The city does have an ongoing interest, obviously, with the economic development that is happening in the area and we would like to see that continue.”
Because of the history of the problems with the courthouse, City Councilor Victor Davila said no matter how the property is reused, it must first undergo environmental testing.
It wasn’t just city officials who are concerned about the fate of the existing courthouse. Springfield lawyers said they too are disappointed that the existing site isn’t being considered.
Local lawyer Patrick Markey said many attorneys rent offices within walking distance of the courthouse and said many of those will be emptied if the courthouse is not close to the existing location.
Markey said he also hopes the state will consider requesting proposals for the redevelopment of the old courthouse once the new one is operational if the building is not constructed at the same location.
“I do not want our city to get it for $1 because it will sit vacant for 15 years just like the old school department,” he said.
The former school department property at 195 State St. has been targeted for redevelopment since 2010 when administrators moved, but multiple developers have backed out of proposals.
In 2021 the city selected First Resource Development as a preferred developer for a project to turn the building into 41 affordable apartments. That project is ongoing.
Markey argued there have been a lot of improvements to the area around the courthouse — including the conversion of a long-vacant historic building at 31 Elm St. into apartments — and leaving the courthouse vacant would put a damper on the progress to upgrade the area.
“The best bid would be a bid that relocates on that site,” he said. “A vacant building is what we are trying to avoid.”
Several others asked about a 2023 ranking of possible sites for a new courthouse that put the existing location in the top spot, followed by two locations on Liberty Street.
Baacke said the request for proposals has not been released yet so there is no current rankings of projects. There was a 2023 study of possible locations that placed the current location and two parcels on Liberty Street as top possibilities for a new building.
“There was a site location exercise that was conducted a couple of years ago that was in large part an assessment to determine if there really was a wealth of potential locations,” he said. “That one did look favorable on the current location because of its central location.”
