SPRINGFIELD — The city’s future construction of a new Springfield Regional Justice Center moved one step closer after the state’s Asset Management Board approved a proposal from the Massachusetts Executive Office of the Trial Court to pursue a long-term lease for the building, during its Jan. 21 meeting in Boston.
According to a press release sent to Reminder Publishing, four of the five members of the board voted in favor of the public/private partnership proposal, which means the state’s Department of Capital Asset Management will now embark on a request for proposals process for the project at some point in the second quarter of this year.
The proposal approved by the board calls for the build-out of a 330,000-square-foot complex that the state will lease in Springfield with an initial term of 40 years and a maximum term of 60 years.
The proposed justice center would house administrative, retention and court service spaces, according to Peter Woodford, the senior project manager for DCAMM who was assigned to work with the Massachusetts Trial Court on the project.
A location for the new center has not been chosen yet.
During two public hearings in early January, Adam Baacke, the DCAMM commissioner and chair of the Asset Management Board, said that the board was considering the leasing plan because the state’s current capital plan is “extremely constrained, and frankly, oversubscribed.”
Baacke argued during the Jan. 7 meeting that the public/private partnership made the most sense because it would accelerate the creation for a new facility in the city and foster a hope that a lease for the new courthouse can be executed in 2026.
“If we were to deliver the Regional Justice Center for Springfield under the current capital plan, in order to have enough space in the capital plan to do it, it’s going to prolong our ability to deliver the project,” Baacke said on Jan. 7. “So, part of why we’re interested in considering the alternative approach this evening as part of this effort is because we think that we can greatly accelerate getting a new facility for the people of this region.”
The reason for the state’s eagerness to quickly build the new Regional Justice Center is because the current Roderick J. Ireland Courthouse has experienced a long history of poor environmental health conditions, including an accumulation of mold and dust that has led to respiratory and fatigue problems for those who work in the building.
During the public comment portion of the meeting on Jan. 2, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno expressed his support for the proposed leasing of the new justice center. He noted the “serious context” from which this new proposal originated. He mentioned how five people who worked in the current courthouse have died from ALS and 60 cases of cancer were linked to people working in the building.
“I lend my full support to this project proposal, and I strongly encourage the Asset Management Board to approve it so DCAMM, in cooperation with the Trial Court, can commence with this much-needed project,” Sarno said during the Jan. 2 hearing.
The lone member of the Asset Management Board to vote against the lease proposal was Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro, who said he was concerned that the bidding process would not be fair or competitive.
“I do not dispute the need for a new building and that the current courthouse poses health and safety risks to those who must use the building,” Shapiro said. “However, numerous public statements by public officials dating back to 2022, seem to be steering the proposal to a specific site and developer, which could have a chilling effect on competition. I hope that my ‘no’ vote provides clarity of what must be done to ensure that a truly open, fair, and competitive process results.”
Although no location has been chosen for the new courthouse, one such plan from developer Peter Picknelly in 2022 included a proposal to have the courthouse on the North End Riverfront site.
In his written statement before the Jan. 2 public hearing, Sarno voiced his approval for the new courthouse on this site.
“I have made it very clear; I am in full support of the relocation of a new Roderick Ireland Courthouse to the north riverfront area,” he said. “This would be a game changer for the city of Springfield.”
During the public hearing on Jan. 2, DCAMM said that potential locations for the new site will be discussed at a later date.
