State names 11 proposals for Springfield courthouse
SPRINGFIELD – Developers propose building the region's new courthouse at sites throughout downtown —including Steiger Park, the location of a closed strip club, on Maple Street where two mostly vacant office buildings sit and next to the MGM casino.
The state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance on Thursday released the addresses and names of developers interested in building a new hall of justice to replace the troubled Roderick Ireland Courthouse.
While state officials said there were a total of 10 projects submitted, developer HYM Investment Group and partner Davenport Companies turned in two alternative locations, bringing the total of proposals to 11.
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said he was happy to see the level of competition for the estimated $2 billion project. The new courthouse will replace the 1970s-era building at 50 State St.
The state Board of Asset Management agreed in January to fast track the project by having a private developer construct a 220,000- to 300,000-square-foot courthouse to its specifications and lease it for 40 to 60 years.
There were initial concerns that few proposals would be submitted, especially with business mogul Peter Picknelly talking about a mixed-use development on the Connecticut River waterfront that would include a courthouse. Sarno said he was pleased that was proven incorrect.
"I don't make the call on it, DCAMM does. Commissioner (Adam) Baacke knows I'm looking for a game-changing project," Sarno said, referring to the head of the state division of asset management.
Division officials will now spend the next few months analyzing details of every proposal and then negotiating with developers to determine what's best for the city and the trial courts. The proposal is scheduled to be selected in the first quarter of 2026.
Most expect it will take at least three years from the time the lease is executed to when people can move from the current courthouse, which is considered a "sick" building that is believed to have been a factor in multiple employees contracting rare and fatal illnesses.
"I wish everyone good luck. Now they have to sharpen their pencils," Sarno said.
Projects were submitted one week ago by at least three different local business owners, as well as developers from Boston and New York. Construction is estimated at $600 million. Over the life of the lease, the state would pay the property's owner in the range of $2 billion.
The following are proposals being considered by the state, in alphabetical order:
Greatland Realty Partners LLC, 1860 Main St.
Greatland , a Boston-based developer, has an option to purchase The Republican building.
George Arwady, publisher and CEO of The Republican, said Thursday that if 1860 Main St. was selected, the option the newspaper signed with the potential buyer would allow the company to lease back the building for up to a year. This would allow sufficient time to move newspaper and printing operations.
During that leaseback period, The Republican would continue to operate out of the building, as would tenant 6 Bricks Cannabis, Arwady said.
The 1860 Main St. parcel totals 5.3 acres, according to city records.
HYM Investment Group, LLC, 50 State St.
Boston-based developers Chuck Irving, principal with The Davenport Cos., and Thomas N. O'Brien, chief executive officer of the HYM Investment Group, are proposing to tear down the existing courthouse , remediate the property for any environmental problems and erect a new building on the same spot.
The project would require all court operations to be moved to another location for at least three years while the work is being conducted, a process that would move staff from a sick building earlier, said Irving, who was also part of the development team for the MGM Springfield casino.
HYM Investment Group, LLC, 91 Taylor St.
The partners submitted an alternative project at the location of the Mardi Gras strip club that closed in 2023. The proposal calls for the same building proposed for State Street to be constructed on the roughly two-acre city block that is bordered by Chestnut, Taylor, Worthington and Dwight streets. Parking would be located on land they own on Lyman Street.
Iconic Real Estate Holdings LLC, 130 and 150 Maple St.
Owners of this company, with addresses in New Rochelle, New York, and Boston, are proposing to tear down mostly vacant office and medical buildings that cover some 3 acres.
A local investor appeared in front of the City Council in March seeking approvals to convert at least one of the buildings at 130 Maple St. into apartments.
Liberty Junction Team, 125 Liberty St.
Northwestern Investments, a Ludlow company, bought this building in December 2024 for $945,000. This proposal would require demolishing the Liberty Medical Arts Building — which dates to 1965 — and combining its 2.2-acre site with adjacent land to the rear along Frank B. Murray Street.
The developers would close Frank B. Murray Street to combine the parcels into one plot, according to a person familiar with the project.
Park View South LLC, multiple parcels off Avocado Street
This undeveloped site just off the northern end of Columbus Avenue is Peter A. Picknelly's riverfront proposal unveiled in 2022. The 14½-acre site along the Connecticut River is part of a $475 million project.
Part of this location is owned by Picknelly and part of the site is vacant land owned by The Republican's parent company.
Springfield 1550 LLC, 1550 Main St.
Once a courthouse , the former federal building at 1550 Main St. was purchased from the state by two owners of Tower Square. Vidhyadhar "Vid" Mitta and Dinesh Patel paid $6 million for the building in January 2023. Originally constructed in 1981, it now has multiple tenants including the Springfield School Department administration and several federal offices.
Springfield Tower Square LLC, 1515 Main St.
The same Tower Square owners also submitted a proposal for Tower Square Park, also known as Steiger Park, named for the department store that once stood on the 1-acre site. The partners bought the privately owned park from MassMutual Life Insurance Company along with Tower Square, its hotel and its parking garage in 2018.
Springfield Tower Square LLC, 275 Chestnut St.
A third proposal from Mitta and Patel lists 275 Chestnut St. as the location. It's the former YMCA building, since remodeled into affordable housing named Chestnut Crossing by Home City Development.
State Street 55 LLC, 55 State St.
Springfield businessman Paul C. Picknelly is proposing a new courthouse in the blue-cladded 68-year-old office building he owns on about a quarter acre of land between the existing courthouse and MGM Springfield.
USPB JV LLC at 413 Dwight St.
Auto dealer James E. "Jeb" Balise and Thomas Dennis, owner of Dennis Engineering Group, plan to construct a courthouse in a city block between Dwight, Taylor, Chestnut and Lyman streets. The partners, who already owned at least five parcels in and around that block, have spent about $8 million purchasing other properties.
The partners revealed their plans in mid-September when they successfully sought permission to raze four historic buildings in the area.
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