In the News

First Resource Development Co. is marking the completion – and full occupancy – of 96 apartments in the former Knox Automobile Co. factory building in Mason Square.

The project wraps a 12-year, $100 million effort to bring 295 affordable apartments to both Knox — where the first fire truck was built in 1906 — and to the neighboring 199-unit Indian Motorcycle apartments across Wilbraham Road.

Gordon Pulsifer, president of First Resource Development Co., said the projects restore luster to a historic neighborhood.

“This has cemented our neighborhood for our families. It’s a place for our kids to go,” Pulsifer said. “We built a neighborhood. And today celebrates that.”

The event was held in the shadow of the giant automobile factory, which closed in 1927. Participants toured apartments in the motorcycle plant across the street.

“We have a lot of folks coming out from Boston to see what we do here in Springfield,” Pulsifer said. ”We came to Springfield 25 years ago and never left.”

With offices in Hanover, Massachusetts, First Resource has nearly 100 apartment buildings in Springfield totaling 1,600 units. The company has earned praise as a landlord for creating affordable, safe, attractive and well-managed housing. The new project has two on-site management offices, a laundry, security cameras, landscaping, parking, crosswalks and the city’s investment in the new Sam Bolden Park at King Street and Wilbraham Avenue.

The key, Pulsifer said, is having on-site staff to handle issues and nice facilities to build a sense of community. He said rents vary and all the housing is income-restricted.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said Pulsifer has earned his city’s trust. The mayor pointed to the nearby DeBerry-Swan elementary school project as a sign of renewal in Mason Square.

Pulsifer has more Springfield apartment projects in the pipeline, including the long-awaited rehab of the former School Department office building downtown at 195 State St., where funding is in place and construction begins at the end of this year.

At their “Residences at The Vault” project a few blocks away at 300-310 State St., construction begins in 2025. The building was erected in 1924 as the Federal Land Bank of Springfield.

In August, Gov. Maura T. Healey signed a $5.16 billion housing bond bill into law. “We want those resources to come out to Western Massachusetts,” Pulsifer said.

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, who attended Monday, said every community in the state faces a housing shortage. She said the ability to see historic buildings become new neighborhoods “brings joy to my heart.”

“Imagine it full with families living here. It’s just a game-changer,” Driscoll said.

Funding for the Knox building part of the project included $1.35 million from the city and $16 million in federal tax credits.

“There are few issues that are more complicated than urban housing,” said U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield. “These are tough projects.”

From finance to zoning to parking to design and construction itself, all aspects of this project were challenging. “Most developers I know don’t embrace these initiatives so they can lose money,” Neal said. “That’s a fundamental part of the challenge in developing in urban areas. This is the center of the city.”

Sarno and state Rep. Bud L. Williams, D-Springfield, contrasted the scene Monday — with residents coming and going amid the hoopla — with what the neighborhood once looked like.

The Knox building was called the Firestone building because it carried an old Firestone tires sign on it. It hadn’t really been used since 1927. Indian Motorcycle went out of business in 1953.

The old Mason Square Fire Station, also rehabbed as part of the project, had been dark for years. Sarno said the properties were off the tax rolls.

Pulsifer said the historic Knox building was so bad inside that workers needed to rebuild the first floor before it was safe enough to go upstairs.

“The roof had collapsed. The building was about to collapse. We wanted to save this history,” he said.

An office building was constructed to resemble a rail station, because that’s where a rail line once served the factories. On display are photos and a classic Indian Chief motorcycle, one of the last made in Springfield.

The Knox building itself was first proposed in 2019 and cost $51.8 million.