Latest news with #CommunityPreservationCommittee
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Springfield grants $3.5M for 19 preservation projects, rejects 1 housing request
SPRINGFIELD — The city will help replace leaking roofs on five historic buildings, fix the Buckingham Fountain that has been dry for years and make Marshall Roy playground handicap accessible, but will not assist an affordable housing project with units earmarked for people with mental illness. The City Council approved spending $3.5 million in Community Preservation Act funding to be divided among 19 projects to help preserve historic churches, build affordable housing, and boost open space and recreation. This year, the act raised more than $2.5 million from a surcharge of 1.5% that has been added to taxpayers' bills since voters adopted the law in 2016. In addition, the state is expected to match the contributions with nearly $400,000, and there were additional funds from interest and money allocated but not used from last year from projects that were not done or came in under budget, said Robert McCarroll, chairman of the Community Preservation Committee. 'It was a very difficult year for the committee,' McCarroll said, about the body that vets the projects and recommends them to the City Council. 'Although we had $3.5 million to recommend to you, we had 35 projects — the most we have ever had — asking for more than $8 million.' About half the grants recommended were less than the amount requested, but those organizations can return next year for additional funds, McCarroll said. The City Council passed 19 of the recommendations without a concern but narrowly rejected a proposal to continue to support the efforts to convert the historic Kavanaugh building on State Street into 35 affordable housing units, some of which will be leased to clients of the Department of Mental Health. 'The location is just about on the front lawn of (the High School of) Commerce, and I don't think it is an appropriate location,' said City Councilor Sean Curran, who has opposed the project in the past. In addition, he argued that the city granted developer Donald Mitchell, owner of Renaissance Development LLC, $2.8 million in federal pandemic money, and the Community Preservation Committee awarded him $210,000 for the project in past years. 'I think that is a significant contribution to this project and to come back tonight for an additional $300,000 of additional taxpayer's dollars, I think is a bridge too far,' Curran said. City Councilor Malo Brown agreed, saying he does not want to put more money into a project that has stalled and added that the building has been sitting vacant with no activity for some time. Mitchell said there were some design flaws in the $10 million project that caused him to part ways with the original architect. The company now has a new designer on board and hopes to begin construction in the fall. To speed up the time when people can move in, his company has now decided to do the work in two phases, so 25 apartments will be built and occupied first, and the remaining 10 will be completed later. In responding to Curran's concerns, Mitchell said he did talk to officials at the High School of Commerce when proposing the project, and the educators did not object to it. Other councilors said they did support the project, especially since Springfield faces a shortage of affordable housing and lacks apartments for people with mental health illnesses. 'I think it addresses many needs (for) the city of Springfield, and I'm not in favor of having another empty building on State Street,' City Councilor Kateri Walsh said. 'It will help a lot of people.' There were no objections to the remaining projects. City Councilor Jose Delgado called the proposals a good mix of improvements that will affect 10 different neighborhoods. He said he was happy that several other projects will help the city address the affordable housing crisis. Among the grants is one for $250,000 that will be given to Habitat for Humanity to help build a home for a low- or moderate-income first-time homebuyer on Hancock Street. The committee also continued its annual contributions to a program that helps first-time homeowners with down payment assistance and another that helps residents improve historic homes. 'We had many applications this year for (a) leaky roof and, of course, the worst thing for a historic building is water penetration,' McCarroll said. The committee recommended assisting the new owners of the historic Paramount Theater and Massasoit House with their $1.2 million project to replace the roof with a $300,000 grant. It also awarded the Ecumenical Church on Eastern Avenue $151,000 and Daniel's New Bethel Church $94,000 each for roof replacement. The historic Ames House on Maple Street, owned by Commonwealth Academy, also will receive a grant to replace the roof. 'This is one of the still-damaged historic homes on Maple Street from the 2011 tornado. We are recommending $155,000 … to rebuild the roof to the appearance it had prior to the tornado.' Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Community Preservation Committee to hold informational meeting
SOUTHWICK — It often happens at Town Meeting and is often seen on various social media platforms that focus on town issues. Residents want to know: 'Why do we need a splash pad when we can't fix our roads?' For Community Preservation Committee Coordinator Sabrina Pooler the answer is simple. 'The funding for the splash pad comes from revenues generated by the town's participation in the state's Community Preservation Act. The projects are not directly funded by taxpayers,' she said. She did, however, recognize that it can be confusing. 'It's a surcharge that you'll see on your tax bill,' she said. In 2002, Town Meeting voted to participate in the program that had only been signed into law two years before, and it was one of the first. This is how the CPA program's surcharge works. For a property valued at $300,000, $100,000 is exempted. Multiply $200,000 by the current tax rate of $15.57 per every $1,000, and a property owner's tax annual tax bill would be $3,114. That $3,114 is multiplied by the 3% surcharge, which adds $92.82 annually, or $7.73 monthly to the tax bill. But that is only what local taxpayers contribute to the Community Preservation Act fund. The state matches the surplus funds generated by deed recording fees at various percentages. 'After residents adopted the surcharge, there were only a few towns and cities that were taking advantage of the program,' Pooler said. 'For a few years the state was matching 100% of the surcharges collected,' she said, adding that up until a few years ago the town was still getting an 80% match. As the program has been adopted by more municipalities that in turn lowered the state match, she said. Pooler said the state's match this year for the town was at nearly 39%, which amounted to $192,843 based on $487,819 collected in local surcharge fees. When the town adopted the surcharge, it also set it at the maximum allowed: 3%. That allows the town to qualify for three separate payments during the fiscal year. As an example of the difference, in Agawam, it had surcharge collections of $629,673, a quarter more than Southwick's, but the state only matched 18% of collections for a total of $113,000. That's because Agawam's surcharge is 1% of a resident's tax bill. While Town Meeting-approved projects have drained some of the CPA accounts, there is still $2.3 million in its general unrestricted fund, $76.000 in its Open Space account, $724,800 in its Affordable Housing account, and $307,200 in its Historic Preservation account. Projects must fit the criteria for protecting open space, the rehabilitation or new construction of affordable housing, and historic preservation. With those funds available, Pooler said the Community Preservation Committee is inviting residents to an informational meeting to have the program explained in greater detail. It will be held on Wednesday, June 18 at 6 p.m., at Town Hall. 'We really want to educate our residents about this program. And most of the time no one attends this once-a-year this meeting,' she said. She's also hoping that there might be some nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations in town that would like to pursue a project that is accessible to all town residents. As an example, she said an organization like the Rotary Club of Southwick might want to build an amphitheater for its summer concert series. To do that, it would need to come up with estimates for every detail of the project from the cost of the property to buying an acoustic shell or bandshell. 'Technically, they're supposed to shovel ready,' Pooler said. But the only way to know if an organization like the Rotary Club or a PTO can propose a project is to submit an application with the details, or if possible, attending the meeting on June 18. Because it might take as long as a year for a project to be approved by the CPC and then Town Meeting. 'We had a Boy Scout come in a want to apply, but he needed the funds nearly right away. It just doesn't work that way,' she said. Since the program started in 2002, $18 million has been allocated for 43 projects, from preserving town documents to repairing the slate roof at the police station. Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Springfield's historic Paramount Theater faces $1.2 million roof repair challenge
SPRINGFIELD — The new owners of The Paramount Theater and the Massasoit House told the city's Community Preservation Committee they are committed to the property's redevelopment, even if the committee doesn't award them the $300,000 they asked for to help replace its roof. It will cost about $1.2 million to replace the roof at the historic property. 'It can't fall to its demise. It just can't,' architect Chris Hill of Blue Moon Design in Bristol, Connecticut, told the committee at a meeting earlier this month with new owner Mohan Sachdev at his side. 'We're committed to doing the project,' Hill said. Sachdev Real Estate Development of Suffield, Connecticut, paid $750,000 for the Paramount and Massasoit property after it was auctioned from the New England Farm Workers Council in September 2024. In Windsor, Connecticut, the Sachdev family renovated the Plaza Theater and its attached storefronts on Broad Street, work that began in 2012. In 2017, for instance, the U.S. The Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the city a $3.6 million loan guarantee to support a since-abandoned rehabilitation project spearheaded by the farm workers council. The farm workers council spent money upgrading electrical systems to the building and replacing the roof, it said at the time. 'I do know work was done up there,' said Daniel M. Knapik, president and CEO of Partners for Community. Jose Perez, a consultant who worked with the farm workers council, said Wednesday the roof was replaced to 'save the structure' and that it was signed off on by an engineer. But Hill told the Community Preservation Committee members in early April that roof work on the Paramount appeared to him to be abandoned mid-project with even ladders left behind. That left gaping holes in the roof. 'There is streaming water coming down from the roof, it's awful,' Hill said. Hill told the committee that Sachdev plans to rehabilitate the property in stages, first refilling the storefronts along Main Street. Currently, only one storefront is occupied: Indian restaurant Panjabi Tadka operates at 1688 Main St. The next step in the property's development would involve developing housing and perhaps a large public space on the upper floors before tackling the theater, once a 3,200-seat venue built in 1927 for silent films and vaudeville shows. It later became the Julia Sanderson Theater and later the Hippodrome nightclub. The Paramount stage has hosted acts as varied as The Three Stooges, Chuck Berry, Jerry Seinfeld and 50 Cent. Meanwhile, parts of The Massasoit House date back to 1843. The hotel played host to — at different times — Daniel Webster, Charles Dickens, P. T. Barnum, Mary Todd Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Jefferson Davis and President Franklin Pierce. Theodore Roosevelt spent part of his honeymoon there. The Springfield Preservation Trust added the Paramount to its list of 'Most Endangered Historic Resources' in August 2024. The Community Preservation Committee received 34 applications asking for a total of about $8 million, said chairman Robert McCarroll. But the committee will have only about $3 million to spend. Members are in the process of tracking projects now with the Paramount proposal falling about in the middle of the pack. 'It was in my top eight,' McCarroll said. The committee will keep refining its list of projects at meetings in May and possibly June with the hope of submitting recommendations to the City Council before the Council switches to a summer schedule with fewer meetings in July and August, he said. Meet Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, medicine's gift to Mason Square in Springfield Jaju Pierogi takes Polish taste of Feeding Hills, Wilbraham, to TV's 'Shark Tank' Fatal fire in Pelham under investigation Read the original article on MassLive. Read the original article on MassLive. Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This long-vacant New Bedford building is getting $100,000 in city funds to build housing
NEW BEDFORD — The former Jerry's Dessert and food shop at 105 Ashley Blvd., vacant for many years, got a preliminary OK for $100,000 in city Community Preservation money to develop nine affordable apartments. The City Council Finance Committee unanimously approved the funding this week. It will still need full council approval when the board meets April 10. Jan da Silva, Community Preservation Committee chair, told city councilors the developer plans on larger, family-style apartments of two to three bedrooms. It's not far from the train station, she added. Two of the units will be ADA-accessible. Transit-oriented development: New Bedford could allow taller, denser buildings near commuter rail station Councilor Maria Giesta said she liked that the apartments were larger, accommodating families. 'That's very much needed in our city right now,' she said. The developer is Green Miles Properties, owned by Audley Bodden. According to the project application, the new apartments will be targeted for households between 60% and 100% of Area Median Income. According the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income for 2023 was $56,025. The $100,000 grant will help the developer leverage $2 million in state and private funding for the overall $3.6 million project, according to the project application. New Bedford apartments: Here are some residential developments on track for 2025 The developers will attempt to preserve as much of the current structure as possible, according to the application. An estimated timeline has construction beginning in August and being completed in December 2026. The structure was built around 1901, and the lot is 10,860 square feet. This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Blighted New Bedford building to get $100,000 for apartment project
