Odd Fellows building gets face-lift

The three-story Odd Fellows building in downtown Springfield is getting a facelift-- thanks to Springfield On The Move.
http://rutlandherald.com/article/20130906/NEWS02/709069940

Photo by Len Emery The 1889 Odd Fellows Block gets a facelift from a painting crew as part of a work release program at SSCF in Springfield. The 17 Main Street landmark has been flakeing lead paint for many years and the much needed work is being sponsored in part by Springfield On the Move. A professional paint crew will complete the work due the the lead abatement problems associatied with the nearby stream and river. Published September 6, 2013 in the Rutland Herald Odd Fellows building gets face-lift By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD — A prison work crew has started the process of sprucing up the timeworn Odd Fellows building on Main Street in downtown Springfield, but whether the crew can do the north side of the building is up in the air. The 1889 building, last painted about 20 years ago, is getting a couple of coats of new paint, thanks to the efforts of Springfield On The Move. Carol Lighthall, executive director of the group, said the crew was painting the south and front sides of the building, but whether the north side gets painted — which borders Great Brook — is still being negotiated with the Department of Corrections. Lighthall said the paint is a tinted primer, and the historic green of the building — with green and burgundy accents, will be applied in coming weeks. “It doesn’t look like the color we chose,” she said. The three-story building will be painted light green, with medium and dark green trim, with burgundy accents, she said. “The architect we worked with is a national downtown preservation architect, and he looked at the building and photographs of the building and came up with the scheme,” she said. “A lot of it was done through pictures.” Lighthall refused to say what the concerns about painting the north side of the building were, other than that there is a concern about keeping paint chips out of the brook. “It’s a combination of factors, unfortunately,” Lighthall said Tuesday. “When it’s an old building and it’s on the river there are number of agencies that care, and then you factor in what the work crew is capable of doing.” “It could be a whole host of things but we’re not ready to talk about (them),” she said, adding that she wasn’t “trying to put anybody in the hot seat.” Lighthall said Rep. Cynthia Martin, D-Springfield, was on the Springfield On The Move board, and she was also in touch with Rep. Alice Emmons, D-Springfield, chairwoman of the House Institutions Committee, which oversees the Department of Corrections, to try and resolve the issues. A representative from the Department of Corrections handling work crews couldn’t be reached Wednesday. “We’re making sure we’ve done all our homework,” Lighthall said. “If the right side can’t be done, I want to make sure we’ve exhausted everything that can be done.” Lighthall said painting the Black River side of the building, which would require extensive scaffolding, has always been problematic. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows, or IOOF, has not been able to afford the paint job, which Lighthall said could cost upwards of $20,000 to $30,000 by a commercial painter. Springfield On The Move has been promoting a facade improvement project for downtown landowners, and she said the organization is helping the Odd Fellows with the project. “Our cost is a fraction of that,” she said, referring to the potential cost of $30,000. Springfield On The Move is renting the lift for the painters, buying the paint and materials and is paying a modest amount for the prison work crew, which comes from the state prison in Windsor. “Our goal is to get these buildings filled with tenants and businesses,” Lighthall said. “The rental space is beautiful, but the exterior is terrible,” she said, noting people said they wouldn’t move into the building when it looked so rundown. Springfield On The Move has held fundraisers over the years, such as its “Take a Seat” project, as well as the sale of birdhouses, she said. “We’ve had a few really successful fundraisers,” she said. Lighthall said she was impressed with the novice painters. “I’m impressed at how quick they’re moving along and they are doing good work,” she said