Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Housing Vermont to buy Woolson Block

The Woolson Block Property, empty since this spring, will have a fresh start this fall.

www.eagletimes.com



Town approves $200,000 loan for purchase of Woolson Block
The town of Springfield approved a $200,000 loan to Housing Vermont and the Springfield Housing Authority Tuesday to cover the purchase price of the Woolson Block, part of a $5 million renovation plan.

www.rutlandherald.com    

8 comments :

  1. RE: Morlock said he didn’t expect to have any problems filling the retail portions of a renovated building.

    Then why are there so many vacant store fronts and commercial offices along Main Street? This loan is as good as gone with no reduction in blight. Just scammers manipulating the system to line their pockets "administrating" the $5M taxpayer funded renovation. Follow the money folks!

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  2. George T McNaughton8/17/16, 4:48 PM

    Actually, there has in fact been considerable interest in these specific storefronts if something could be done about the current landowner and the issues concerning the building resolved. This particular development team did an excellent job in redeveloping and saving the Ellis Block (theater). Despite the naysayers, we need to work on building up and improving Springfield using whatever tools are available.

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  3. Thanks to the forward-looking majority on the selectboard, Springfield now has a blight ordinance, and what used to prevail in downtown rentals will no longer be nearly as big a problem as it used to be.

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  4. Sounds like the game of Monopoly. Buy the house on the corner,the house by the river. Maybe go bankrupt or make lots of money. But that game always ends by folding the board, putting it in the box and then in the closet. Rather see one property turned into green space by the falls. There are plenty of vacant spaces available to support wishes rather than spend our money renovating. Should have put that money into getting the newer vacant properties occupied.

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  5. 6:49, Most of the store fronts you see empty, are old, outdated pieces of crap with no functioning heating/air conditioning systems. Literally any of the buildings downtown that are occupied have been updated to some extent. You probably haven't stepped foot in any of them. You just want to whine and cry like a little baby.

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  6. I still think the "youth in transition" program is a bad idea. They should "transition" themselves down to the local recruiting office like I, and millions of others did, when we turned 18. That having been said, I strongly support the renovation overall. The Woolson Block is a cornerstone (literally) of downtown and should be saved.

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  7. Saved? The Housing Authority is a bunch of lazy people that sit and eat huge honeybuns and shop on the computer all day. The movie theater took forever and what a cheap and ugly job they did. I have not seen the inside and would not step a foot in it. But the outside is very, very cheap and ugly looking. Some different then the burned down Ellis theater was. The "board" allows pets in their housing that has totally ruined them. They were once at least clean. The cats and dogs are "service" animals if they say they are a companion, so the no pets rule is you can have any animal you want in these apartments run by the housing authority. At the Market Basket at least they have a sign that says the only service animals allowed are for the deaf and blind. I one time saw an apartment with a rabbit and hay on the floor for it. It was a "service" animal. Then they got bedbugs in their elderly housing high rise. So if the housing authority takes over rentals and fixes up the that Woolson block, yuk!!!! Yuk!!! So sad as Morlock and his cronies (the board) are helping to ruin Springfield. Thirty years ago, Springfield turned into a ghost town. Now it's like home to drugs, poverty and a nightmare in my opinion. Historic buildings should be saved and brought back to their beautiful and dignified original beauty. If most people had the huge amount of money the Feds give the housing authority, you can guarantee that Woolson block would be saved. And not by the housing authority.

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    Replies
    1. You are probably right about SHA, their judgment on other building uses/locations isn't great. The Springfield Family Center (which is currently for sale with no buyer in sight) is a classic example. Most of the people it serves have to walk across town to get to it, but it sure is a nice place for the staff! It was originally housing for seniors; it should be again, since it will probably never sell. This town owns quite a few properties that no one wants, finding an APPROPRIATE use for for them would improve the town dramatically. Housing or services for seniors and Veterans is my idea of appropriate. I'd rather live in a town that welcomes seniors and veterans than a town known as a haven for criminals, welfare cases and drug addicts. (If you think you can't base an economy on serving seniors and Vets, look at Arizona and Florida!)

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