Springfield purchases former downtown bakery, VNA buildings

The town of Springfield will purchase two downtown properties, both on Main Street, with plans for possible redevelopment and more downtown green space.


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2016-12-21 / Front Page Springfield purchases former downtown bakery, VNA buildings By TORY JONES toryb@eagletimes.com SPRINGFIELD — The town of Springfield will purchase two downtown properties, both on Main Street, with plans for possible redevelopment and more downtown green space. “It is another significant step for Springfield downtown redevelopment,” Town Manager Tom Yennerell said on Tuesday, Dec. 20. A Purchase and Sale Contract was signed on Tuesday, Dec. 20 to purchase the two properties, at 5-7 Main St. and 9-11 Main St., from Chris Mason for a combined $190,000 purchase price, according to Yennerell. The funds used for the purchase were “rainy day funds” for a long time — on the books for a couple of decades, Yennerell said. “It’s a team effort. And now we’re working the plan,” Yennerell said. Yennerell said he credits the Springfield Selectboard for saying, “Let’s use these funds to purchase the buildings.” Unlike with school district property purchases, municipal property purchases do not require a vote by town residents, he said. The purchase is part of the town’s strategic plan that the Springfield Selectboard and the town manager put together, he said. A previous step in the town’s plan was the redevelopment of the downtown Woolson Block building. “This is another large step,” he said. The properties just purchased are commonly known as the Bakery Building and the VNA building, Yennerell said. One was a functioning bakery at one time, fronting Main Street, and the VNA building was a former mill building, “way back in the day,” though it was never an industrial site, he said. They are located between Main Street and the river, near the Comptu Falls Park. The former VNA building is constructed up against the river, abutting the park. One of the walls of the building is a retaining wall, he said. That building is likely to be demolished so that the park can be extended into that lot, Yennerell said. The exact future of the bakery building is yet to be determined. Once the purchase is complete, there are no remaining funds left to do anything with the buildings at this time, he said. Yennerell said options for the former bakery building could include redevelopment, creation of green space, or other uses such as parking space for downtown visitors. He said fundraising efforts will likely be forthcoming as the town discusses the best use for the building, or a developer may step forward to take it on. “It would be nice to get a qualified and successful developer to purchase the building and redevelop it,” he said. He said he recently spoke with the Springfield Community Band, also, which is looking for a new location. That could also be part of a plan to extend the park, he said. The town has been working with Greenman-Pedersen Inc. (GPI) on suggestions as part of its Downtown Master Plan. Yennerell said the selectboard would have liked to close on the buildings by the end of the year, but they will not miss the mark by far. A closing date has been set for Jan. 27, 2017 or earlier, he said. Published December 21, 2016 in the Rutland Herald Town to buy Visiting Nurse, bakery buildings in Springfield By SUSAN SMALLHEER SPRINGFIELD — Springfield is buying two run-down properties on Main Street that planners and the Select Board believe are key to downtown revitalization, completing months of negotiations with owner Christopher Mason. The two properties, the former Visiting Nurses building and the old Springfield Bakery, have long been on the town’s downtown revitalization wish list. Both buildings are largely vacant. Town Manager Tom Yennerell said that he signed the agreement early this week with Mason’s lawyer, his father John Mason, of Greenfield, Mass., which stipulates a price of $190,000 for the two parcels. “The board authorized me with a dollar amount to complete the deal,” Yennerell said Tuesday. The town plans on tearing down the Visiting Nurses building, which has a distinctive cupola, and is studying its options regarding the bakery building. The Visiting Nurses building is directly on the Black River. Yennerell said if the town tears down both buildings it would open up the public view and access to the Comtu Falls on the Black River, a key strategic goal of the Select Board. Money for the Mason purchases is coming from a little-tapped reserve fund that dates back 20 years, Yennerell said. He said the Springfield Select Board had authorized the use of the little-used fund, which he called a “rainy day fund” that the town set aside years ago. He called it an “ancient revolving loan fund with no strings attached.” He said the account was established at least “a couple of decades ago.” Yennerell said that the $190,000 purchase price was likely just the beginning of spending, but he said the town would be applying for state and federal grants to complete the plan of opening up the river. He said that the Visiting Nurses building was not expected to have any hazardous waste, since it never was an industrial site. The town will survey the building for asbestos. He said the sale of the buildings is contingent on an environmental review. Yennerell said that Mason, who lives in Springfield only part-time, currently lives in a portion of the Visiting Nurses building. He said that Mason also has tenants in the upper floors of the bakery building. The town manager said demolition of the bakery building might run into trouble on historic preservation grounds, unlike the Visiting Nurses building. He said that the town would love to find a person who wants to redevelop the bakery building as a result. “But with it gone, it gives us a lot more visual access to the river,” he said. The two properties are assessed at $219,000 Yennerell said.