Springfield selects developer to save degraded historic home
SPRINGFIELD – The City Council has agreed to sell a historic building to a real estate company after officials said this may be the last chance for the unique property.
Icarian Real Estate Advisors LLC was selected as the preferred developer to restore 60 Byers St., described as a dilapidated but important home in the city.
"The distress level of this property is very significant," Tina Quagliato Sullivan, deputy development officer for the city, told the council last week. "If the property continues to sit there is not going to be another option beyond demolition."
She predicted the building would not survive another winter. Already, the interior second and first floors have collapsed into the basement.
After taking the property through tax title in 2017, the city has been trying to find a way to restore it . This is not the first time the city has found a developer, but that project fizzled and the city reclaimed the home.
The home was built by Thurston Munson in a modern Frank Lloyd Wright-style and includes a boarded-up wall of glass windows that in good times offered views of the city.
Springfield will sell this dilapidated but historic property at 60 Byers St. to a developer for $1,000 in order to promote its preservation. (The Republican / file photo)
It is a single-building local historic district located across from the Springfield Armory National Historic Site. The condition is so poor it is on Historic Preservation Trust's list of most endangered properties.
Question of experience
When the city put out a request for proposals in March, officials questioned if anyone would be interested. It did receive three responses but one was "non-responsive" and a second submitted limited plans, Sullivan said.
Icarian Real Estate, an offshoot of the Macmillan Group real estate company, showed it had the money and experience to tackle the complicated project. Principals of Icarian are Macmillan head Demetrios N. Panteleakis and Walter J. Kroll, vice president of development for the company, as well as a member of Springfield's Historical Commission, Sullivan said.
The company has rehabbed several historic properties along Mill Street that were also in poor condition.
The company's proposal is to preserve the outside of the building and renovate and build three apartments inside, two of which will be deemed affordable, Sullivan said.
The property is assessed at $107,000 and will be sold for $1,000. The Community Preservation Act Committee has attached a $300,000 grant to the property to make the project more attractive.
"I say that the amount of rehab that is needed here vastly exceeds the value of the property," Sullivan said.
City Councilor Tracye Whitfield aired concerns that the same people are continually selected as preferred developers, leaving out less-experienced entrepreneurs.
She called for the city to set up a program that would require experienced developers who are selected for projects to include a training program that will match them with new business owners.
Springfield will sell this dilapidated but historic property at 60 Byers St. to a developer for $1,000 in order to promote its preservation. (The Republican / file photo)
The city does send an email blast to several hundred developers who have signed up to receive information about requests for proposals and bid requests. Sullivan said she will be happy to help anyone who wants to be added to the list.
In a previous interview, Kroll said Icarian hopes to be able to start work in early fall to replace the leaking roof and otherwise secure the property so it does not continue to fail over the winter. Construction is expected to take 12 to 14 months.
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