A New Courthouse for Springfield
The recent announcement that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was preparing to release an RFP (Request For Proposals) for a new Hampden County Hall of Justice has been met with both excitement and concern. On the surface, the project plan will be one of the largest economic development projects to take place in Springfield this decade, which promises good paying construction jobs, and a new, state of the art facility, free from the environmental concerns that have plagued the existing courthouse for decades. A major concern, however, is the Commonwealth’s plan to enter into a public-private partnership, meaning that a private developer will own the land and the building, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will lease the building and run the courts. What was originally pegged as a $200M construction project may cost upwards of $2B over the life of the lease, leading to questions as to whether or not the proposal is in the best interest of Springfield’s residents, as well as all residents of Massachusetts. A secondary concern revolves around the implications of moving the courthouse to an entirely new piece of land within Springfield - one that may not even be in the Metro Center neighborhood.
On April 30th, I spoke before the Springfield City Council to advocate that any proposal the Commonwealth considers includes an Impact Analysis. The goal of the Impact Analysis is for potential developers to clearly state who would benefit least and most from the selection of their bid. Many businesses, including restaurants, legal services, and printing companies have established their businesses around the existing courthouse. Moving the courthouse to an entirely different area of the city could profoundly change their economic livelihood.
Below, you’ll find a number of sources and articles, including quotations from my testimony. You deserve a City Councilor who is well informed on the most pressing issues of our city, and shows up for our residents and businesses. I’ll keep fighting for transparency and honesty throughout this process.
From The Reminder: Public airs concerns, questions about new courthouse
From The Article: City Council candidate Juan Latorre suggested that the RFP include an economic impact statement for Springfield to rate.
“Depending on where you put it impacts all of downtown Springfield and the whole city immensely,” Latorre said. “Some people are going to win, depending on how you put it. “And some people are going to lose tremendously.”
From The Article: “Can your RFP (request for proposals) require an economic impact statement for the city that you can rate,” asked city resident and current City Council candidate Juan Latorre. “Some people are going to win depending on where you put it and some people will lose tremendously.”
From The Article: …In response, another speaker in the council chambers mentioned a previous report on the matter – one indicating the process could take seven years. Baacke responded work could take “up to” seven years, and that if the state were to build a new courthouse itself, “it could be well into the 2030s by the time we'd be able to complete it.”
From Western Mass News: State discusses possible timeline for new Springfield courthouse
From The Article: According to DCAMM’s anticipated timeline, the expectation is to have a request for proposal issued in the second quarter of this year and then have a bidder’s conference in the next quarter. After that, there’s still the work of choosing a location for the new courthouse.
From Western Mass Politics & Insight: DCAMM and Springfield Discuss Their Long-term Relationship with the Courthouse…
From The Article: Meeting attendees broadly preferred keeping the courthouse where it is. Baacke said this was “highly unlikely” because the state would need to relocate staff and court functions in alternate spaces while contractors demolished the current courthouse and replaced it.
View the entire meeting on YouTube via Focus Springfield