In Springfield, we all remember where we were on June 1, 2011. Without a great deal of warning, an EF-3 tornado with winds of more 160 miles per hour tore a 6.2 mile path through the city from one end to the other, leaving behind a trail of damage unprecedented in the city’s history.
This devastation immediately impacted 40 percent of city residents – forcing more than 35 residents to live in temporary shelter at the MassMutual Center, damaging more than 600 structures and creating 150,000 cubic yards of tree debris to be cleared from public ways.
What followed was a phased planning process in each of the neighborhoods impacted by the tornado, a process that involved the participation of more than 3,000 city residents – the largest community planning process in the city’s history. The results can be found at www.developspringfield.com
And the rebuilding wasn’t on hold while the planning process was under way.
Private Investments
Economic activity inside and outside the path of the tornado has not ceased. Springfield is a city of more 33 square miles and 150,000 residents, making it the fourth largest city in New
England. And the private sector has continued to recognize the advantages of the city’s location, the cost of doing business here, and Springfield’s excellent workforce.
In March, Baystate Health opened its $296 million Hospital of the Future, creating more medical industry jobs. More recently, F.W. Webb Co. closed on the purchase of 15 acres from the Springfield Redevelopment Authority to expand to a larger facility.
Smith & Wesson recently added 225 new jobs to its headquarters in Springfield. And other nationally known companies, such as MassMutual Financial, Peter Pan Bus, Big Y Supermarkets and Merriam-Webster all call Springfield home to their headquarters. Titeflex, a leader in braided hose, shunned an offer to move to another state to remain in Springfield and increase its workforce to 125. Meanwhile, Liberty Mutual added 300 jobs and Thing 5 — a telecommunications company – is opening a new, expanded location at One Financial Plaza, and plans to create up to 500 jobs.
In addition, Cambridge College continues to move forward with plans to be located in downtown’s Tower Square.
The city is seeing major restaurant chains from Providence and Hartford targeting our riverfront and Basketball Hall of Fame area. The downtown area has two hotels under construction — a new 99-room Holiday Inn Express in a historic building on State Street, and the renovation of a 250-room hotel that will be rebranded as a LaQuinta Inn & Suites creating hundreds of newly renovated room and new jobs for city residents.
Union Station Redevelopment
I’ve been a major proponent of the Gateway Cities initiative, and one of my top priorities in development is bringing more market rate housing to our urban centers. We’ve been successful in attracting the first significant market rate housing project in decades at 195 State St., a new loft project in a historic building set to be complete this fall. We are one of the first cities to call for new incentives to attract this type of investment to our historic mid-sized cities in Massachusetts.
In addition to major private investment in the city, the Springfield Redevelopment Authority is in the midst of moving forward on the redevelopment of Union Station – a historic train station closed since 1979 – into an intermodal transit center that will represent an $83 million project investment. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is investing in a $110 million state data center set to open next year adjacent to our new Federal Courthouse.
The investment from both the private and public sectors in Springfield during this time of economic decline has proven the value in the city. With new investments planned, the public and private sector and the residents of our city are excited to continue to rebuild our great home.
The future is bright here in Springfield.
Domenic J. Sarno is the mayor of Springfield.
