Officials gathered with representatives of Clinical Support Options on April 16 to break ground on a 36-unit housing complex on 775 Worthington St.
Reminder Publishing photo by Ryan Feyre
SPRINGFIELD — A new 36-unit housing complex to accommodate houseless individuals at 775 Worthington St. is expected to be ready by summer 2026.
On April 16, representatives from Clinical Support Options joined city and state officials to break ground on the $20 million project that promises to provide the homeless population with necessary resources and a place to stay.
“They’ll be able to move from shelters or the street directly into their own apartment and supportive housing, which means that they’ll have access to caseworkers and recovery supports and things that will really help them stay stable.” Karin Jeffers, chief executive officer for CSO, said in an interview. “It’ll be their apartment; they’ll have the lease.”
The project expands CSO’s Friends of Homeless campus in Springfield by building 36 permanent supportive housing units right next to the organization’s shelter system on Worthington Street.
According to Jeffers, many of the people who occupy the units will likely come from that shelter.
“We tend to already know the people and we’re able to work with them,” Jeffers said.
The new housing will replace the former 5th Alarm strip bar that used to reside at the property, which Friends of the Homeless and CSO purchased in 2021. CSO, the manager and developer of the project, will knock down the former exotic dancing establishment to make room for the studio-style apartments.
“Every single one of these 36 units that are going to be built right across the street represents a new beginning,” Jeffers said at the groundbreaking. “A place where somebody can sleep, cook a meal, have a conversation and start to feel.”
The project is funded by a bevy of sources, including the city of Springfield, the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation, the Massachusetts Housing & Shelter Alliance, Stratford Capital Group, TD Bank and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal explained at the groundbreaking that 60% of the project costs are covered by federal funding through Low-income Housing Tax Credits and the American Rescue Plan Act. The total number of federal dollars for the project amounts to $11.5 million.
Meanwhile, the city of Springfield invested around $500,000 into the project.
“This is a good moment,” Neal said. “The groundbreaking is a ceremony in the symbolic of nature, but it’s also a statement about the idea that we hold that there’s no place to be abandoned and no place to be left behind.”
Aside from resources and amenities, the new apartment complex will allow tenants to gain access to a medical clinic, a cafeteria serving three meals each day and myriads of supportive and behavioral health services.
Tenants will be chosen based on a set of criteria that will include homelessness, according to Jeffers. Unhoused individuals who meet criteria to be considered “chronically homeless” will receive priority during the tenant selection process.
“Uplifting those in need is a benefit to our entire community,” Mayor Domenic Sarno said in a statement about the project. “Thank you, Friends of the Homeless for lifting up and empowering these individuals and families in need toward a better life.”
