Springfield investor Praveen Devineni and project manager Jessica Mekal present a proposal for 130-150 apartment units at the 110, 120 and 128 Maple St. units. The council eventually approved a special permit for the project, which is expected to get going later this year.
Photo credit: Focus Springfield
SPRINGFIELD — A major redevelopment project is likely coming to three buildings on Maple Street after developers met with the City Council during its March 24 hearings meeting.
In an 11-1 vote, the council approved a special permit for 130-150 housing units at 110, 120 and 128 Maple St. The units, mainly one-bedroom apartments, will likely be market-rate housing, according to project manager Jessica Mekal.
“This is a very exciting project we have coming to the area,” said Mekal, who runs a property management/real estate company in Agawam called Mekal Management. “We’re looking forward to providing much-needed housing to the city.”
The properties were used for medical offices in the past but have mainly been vacant the last few years, according to Ward 3 City Councilor Melvin Edwards, who said his interest in these three buildings sparked about four to five years ago.
At one point, a California company expressed a desire to develop the three buildings into storage units, but Edwards, who represents the ward where these buildings reside, said he contacted the mayor’s office to communicate concern with this possible development route.
Praveen Devineni, a Springfield investor who owns other multi-family buildings in the city, bought the 110, 120 and 128 — sometimes known as 130 — Main St. properties for $2.025 million to transform the buildings into 130-150 apartments.
According to Mekal and Edwards, three neighborhood councils; Maple High Six Corners, the South End Citizens Council and the Metro Center Association, have all offered support for the project, and a couple councilors lauded Devineni for his past investment in the city.
“This is a good project, and I would hope everybody would appreciate the fact that [Devineni] has hired a local manager who is well-respected,” Edwards said. “[Devineni] is not coming to ask for our money. He’s just asking for the right to be able to spend his money to build something that he and his team has put together that would be profitable for him, [and] yet would be a benefit to the city.”
Mekal said that the three buildings are about 80% vacant at this point, with “very minor” business still going on. She told the council that she is working with the remaining tenants to help them relocate if needed and added that there has been no pushback from tenants about this redevelopment.
In her explanation of the project’s nuances, Mekal said that most of the apartments will be one-bedrooms with a price point of $1,200-$1,400.
“Based on my calculations, looking at the market, I think there’s a lack of one-bedrooms,” Mekal said.
Despite the overall support for this housing, a couple councilors expressed concerns about the characterization and size of the apartments, along with the possible price attached to them.
At-Large City Councilor Sean Curran felt that these apartments, proposed at 500-550 square feet, are mischaracterized as one-bedrooms. Instead, they should be considered studio apartments, based on state building code.
For edification, he told the council that he is working on an ordinance that defines what a studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartment is, so developers have a stronger touchstone when they present a housing development proposal to the council.
Curran, the only councilor to vote “no,” suggested that the council continue the hearing to ask pertinent city stakeholders about their thoughts on the project. He also wondered if the developers would be willing to consider combining the units because he believed the market price they presented for 500-550-square-foot units was too high.
“I do appreciate your interest in the city of Springfield, and I appreciate your investment in the city of Springfield,” Curran said. “But I just kind of feel for this many units of only 500 square feet going for $1,400; I think we can do better.”
Mekal replied to these concerns with a promise that the apartments will feel bigger than they appear on paper. She said a common laundry area will be included on each floor, and all the apartments will have a dining room, living room and kitchen.
Additionally, utilities will be included in the rent price and the three buildings will carry a total of around 500 parking spaces for tenants.
She told the council that there is a possibility that developers sprinkle in a few two or three-bedroom apartments.
“I think that this project is a good project on its face,” Ward 6 City Councilor Victor Davila said. “It will get these properties fully back on the tax rolls at a higher appraised value, which will mean more money for the city.”
Before voting on the matter, Mekal said the developers are in the architectural phase of the project with hopes of starting construction on the project in late spring or early summer. Devineni said he would look at the possibility of combining the units, but did not concretely say that would happen.
“We are still in the design phase,” Mekal said.
After much questioning and debate, the council passed the special permit proposal with no reference or restriction to the size of the units.
