SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – For over 30 years, the city of Springfield has envisioned a modern apartment complex in Court Square.
“Growing up in this area, I’ve always wanted there to be more of an opportunity where people can work live in downtown and stay close to home,” said David Fontaine Jr. , Vice President of Fontaine Brothers.
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“Its a bear of project, me and my family have been working on it for 30 years, said Peter Picknelly, Chairman of OPAL Development. “First we had it a concept for a hotel, now it’ll be commercial and an apartment building.
But there has been many bumps in the road, including the pandemic that pushed back construction.
“We had a ton of momentum, before COVID-19,” said Springfield Mayor, Domenic Sarno. “These 15, 16 months have been difficult, but we’ve been resilient. “We will get back our mojo.”
Congressman Richard Neal joined the mayor and development team to update the community on the project. Neal provided insight on his role in supporting, what he described as a “challenging project”.
“We played an instrumental role in saving the historic tax credits, the new market tax credits, and the low income tax credits against long odds,” said Neal.
When the project is completed in two years, there will be 74 first class apartments, along with a fine dining restaurant. The hope is that these apartments will have a spinoff effect, boosting the downtown economy.
The total cost of the 31 Elm Street project is $51.3 million. Much of the interior work has already been done, but the bulk of the work is expected to pick up later this year
