City and state officials gathered with community stakeholders to celebrate the grand opening of the Convention Center Carpark and adjacent multi-use plaza.
Reminder Publishing photo by Ryan Feyre
SPRINGFIELD — City and state officials gathered with Massachusetts Convention Center Authority representatives to celebrate the official grand opening of the long-awaited Convention Center Carpark and adjacent multi-use plaza.
The $80 million project, including over $45 million dedicated to the plaza alone, aims to bolster the city’s downtown amenities and bring walkability between MassMutual Center to MGM Springfield and the South End, according to the city.
“The Carpark and The Landing represent more than just two new facilities,” said Marcel Vernon, the CEO of MCCA. “They symbolize three important things: more jobs, more economic opportunity and more vibrant, thriving downtown business activity.”
The Springfield Carpark, located at 41 Harrison Ave., officially opened to the public in early April. According to Mark O’Leary, the communication and external relations manager for the MCCA, the garage has 817 spaces and parking rates of $2 for the first half hour and $2 for each subsequent hour of parking. There are also monthly rates that range from $100-$150 and event parking that ranges from $10 to $15.
The completion of the garage comes over four years after MCCA purchased the Civic Center Garage from the city of Springfield in December 2020. The former structure, which was built in 1971 and featured over 1,200 parking spaces, was well beyond its useful life, according to independent engineering and feasibility studies that the city completed just prior to MCCA’s purchase of the garage.
According to the MCCA website, the new Carpark will accommodate cars and sustainability initiatives, such as EV parking, while also featuring restaurant and retail space on the first floor.
Meanwhile, the multi-use plaza, called Bruce’s Landing, will connect the Main Street corridor with other attractions and restaurants through different activities and events, according to the city.
The plaza is named after Bruce Landon, the former Canadian professional ice hockey executive and goaltender who was the longtime part-owner, president and general manager of the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League.
In his remarks at the ribbon cutting ceremony on Aug. 27, Mayor Domenic Sarno said he envisions the new plaza mirroring the festivities that occur outside Fenway Park before and after baseball games. He said he can see the same kind of activities happening before and after Springfield Thunderbirds contests.
“I can see this place lit up in a good day with so many different activities and parties,” Sarno said. “I’m tremendously impressed.”
State Rep. Carlos Gonzalez (D-Springfield) lauded the partnerships that made the Carpark and accompanying plaza possible, noting that the state invested over $50 million in those partnerships and collaborations.
He added that he couldn’t wait to see some salsa programming out on the plaza.
“This is a great opportunity,” Gonzalez said. “As events come, we can celebrate out here.”
Xiomara Albán DeLobato, vice chair of the MCCA and vice president of the Western Mass. Economic Development Council, said projects such as these create a ripple effect on the community, including workforce, supply chains, transportation, parks and neighborhoods.
She alluded to the fact that the Carpark and plaza will accentuate the hospitality and tourism industry in Western Mass.
“I’m thrilled about this,” she said. “This type of development … just the first of many that we’re going to see, is successful because of this local and state partnership.”
According to Vernon, Springfield was responsible for $153 million of the approximately $1.2 billion the MCCA accrued in economic development over the past year. That contributed to about 11,500 jobs and about $62 million in tax revenue for the state, he said.
The Carpark and plaza are one of many economic development projects in Springfield, according to Sarno. The city is also in the process of bringing three properties at the corner of Main Street and State Street back online while also finishing renovations to Court Street Park.
