The Springfield Redevelopment Authority sold 7 parcels to the developers to provide for additional parking, a laundry building and management office.
SPRINGFIELD — The City Council granted approval to three zone changes in the South End this week that aids plans for an estimated $75 million housing improvement project.
The zone changes, approved by unanimous vote, will provide for additional parking lots and will allow for construction of a maintenance/laundry building and a management office building, officials said.
Gordon A. PulsiferGordon A. Pulsifer, president of First Resource Development Co., is planning to completely rehabilitate 22 apartment buildings in the Hollywood section of the South End. Another building is slated for rehabilitation or demolition.
The Springfield Redevelopment Authority is selling a total of seven parcels to three limited partnerships involved in the housing improvement project. The parcels were rezoned by the council for the parking lots and the two support buildings.
Christopher Moskal, executive director of the authority, said the board is “thrilled” to participate in the plans.
“It will be the final piece in what will be a total revitalization of the Hollywood section,” Moskal said.
The historic, four-story apartment buildings are located on Oswego, Saratoga and Montpelier streets, and were built between 1913 and 1927. The project is within the Outing Park Historic District.
All but two of the buildings involve subsidized housing and are expected to remain as subsidized housing, said McCafferty, the city’s director of housing. The project targets a total of 316 apartment units in the neighborhood.
In addition to interior renovations, there will be new roofs, windows, cleaning of masonry, boilers, kitchens, baths, flooring, intercom systems, fire escapes, fire alarm systems and security systems, according to a project summary. There will also be new sidewalks, street lights, landscaping and fencing.
Pulsifer previously redeveloped the Worthington Commons and City View Commons apartment complexes in Springfield. The improvements, including enhanced security, has had a great impact on reducing crime in the area, McCafferty said.
In the new development in the South End, seven buildings will be owned by Concord Heights Limited Partnership, and 16 buildings will be owned by Outing Park Apartments I and II, both limited partnerships. The investment of $75 million includes $17 million in historic tax funds, according to city officials.
There are transformation efforts in the South End, intended to attract new market rate housing, demolition and substantial rehabilitation of existing housing stock, and construction of a new community center and a new early childhood education center, officials said.
