In the News

A small parcel of land off Liberty Street that was once targeted to be a gas station or small commercial plaza will instead be protected as a place for wetlands to remain undisturbed, trees to grow and animals to take refuge.

The city officially announced last week the purchase of nine contiguous lots, which total 5.8 acres, from O’Connell Oil Associates Inc. While it will preserve a small amount of green space near a busy street, it is even more valuable because of its neighbors.

On the west side of the parcel, which is next to 1173 Liberty St., is about 25 acres of conservation land. On the east side of the property is another 21.5 acres that all run along Abbey Brook, said Tina Quagliato Sullivan, deputy development officer for housing, community development and neighborhoods.

If looked at as a whole, including some privately-owned properties, the open space stretches more than 80 acres from Chicopee to the area behind the Big Y where the culvert washout took place last fall, said City Council President Michael Fenton, who represents Ward 2 where the conservation land is located.

“This is a once in a generation project for Hungry Hill and the entire city, and I am proud to be part of the final team to bring it across the finish line,” he said. “After decades of work, the Abbey Brook parcel is complete and constitutes the largest contiguous conservation parcel in the city.”

In early July, the City Council unanimously approved the purchase.

The property was bought with $500,000 of Community Preservation Act funds awarded over a two-year period and $134,000 in city funds, Quagliato Sullivan said.

The city will clean up some of the brush and add a trail so it connects to the remaining parcels but it will mostly left be for open space. There is also a possibility of some contamination on the site so they don’t want to disturb the land much, Quagliato Sullivan said.

“This area of Abbey Brook will now have walking trails and passive recreation opportunities like picnicking, hiking, enjoying and studying nature, and as conservation land we can ensure it will remain open to the general public for passive recreation and educational use under good stewardship,” Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said.

Central green spaces like this one are vital because they provide shade and cooling in the middle of urban heat islands and improve air quality, he said.

The purchase came about because O’Connell Oil Associates was evaluating the property it owns, which had been vacant for years, and determined it no longer needed it. The city then worked to buy it from the company, said George Dickhout, chief financial officer for the company.

It is the first time since the city adopted the Community Preservation Act in 2018 that funds generated from a 1.5% surcharge on real estate tax bills have been used to buy open space, said Robert McCarroll, chairman of the committee that distributes the money.

Funds have been used it to improve parks and other open space as well as improve historic buildings and assist with affordable housing development, he said.

U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, attended a ceremony announcing the acquisition carrying a 1986 article from The Daily News, which is now The Republican, that talks about the original donation of the 22 acres of land by the Hogan family. At the time, Neal was mayor of Springfield.

The property was once used to manufacture ice harvested from the Connecticut River, he said.

Neal said he started taking interest in preserving wetlands 40 years ago because they were being paved over by developers who were doing it without any permits.

“We are custodians in our time of open space and wetlands,” he said. “I think there are a lot of things you can do locally that have a huge impact on the environment.”