Springfield grants $3.5M for 19 preservation projects, rejects 1 housing request
SPRINGFIELD — The city will help replace leaking roofs on five historic buildings, fix the Buckingham Fountain that has been dry for years and make Marshall Roy playground handicap accessible, but will not assist an affordable housing project with units earmarked for people with mental illness.
The City Council approved spending $3.5 million in Community Preservation Act funding to be divided among 19 projects to help preserve historic churches, build affordable housing, and boost open space and recreation.
This year, the act raised more than $2.5 million from a surcharge of 1.5% that has been added to taxpayers' bills since voters adopted the law in 2016. In addition, the state is expected to match the contributions with nearly $400,000, and there were additional funds from interest and money allocated but not used from last year from projects that were not done or came in under budget, said Robert McCarroll, chairman of the Community Preservation Committee.
'It was a very difficult year for the committee,' McCarroll said, about the body that vets the projects and recommends them to the City Council. 'Although we had $3.5 million to recommend to you, we had 35 projects — the most we have ever had — asking for more than $8 million.'
About half the grants recommended were less than the amount requested, but those organizations can return next year for additional funds, McCarroll said.
The City Council passed 19 of the recommendations without a concern but narrowly rejected a proposal to continue to support the efforts to convert the historic Kavanaugh building on State Street into 35 affordable housing units, some of which will be leased to clients of the Department of Mental Health.
'The location is just about on the front lawn of (the High School of) Commerce, and I don't think it is an appropriate location,' said City Councilor Sean Curran, who has opposed the project in the past.
In addition, he argued that the city granted developer Donald Mitchell, owner of Renaissance Development LLC, $2.8 million in federal pandemic money, and the Community Preservation Committee awarded him $210,000 for the project in past years.
'I think that is a significant contribution to this project and to come back tonight for an additional $300,000 of additional taxpayer's dollars, I think is a bridge too far,' Curran said.
City Councilor Malo Brown agreed, saying he does not want to put more money into a project that has stalled and added that the building has been sitting vacant with no activity for some time.
Mitchell said there were some design flaws in the $10 million project that caused him to part ways with the original architect. The company now has a new designer on board and hopes to begin construction in the fall.
To speed up the time when people can move in, his company has now decided to do the work in two phases, so 25 apartments will be built and occupied first, and the remaining 10 will be completed later.
In responding to Curran's concerns, Mitchell said he did talk to officials at the High School of Commerce when proposing the project, and the educators did not object to it.
Other councilors said they did support the project, especially since Springfield faces a shortage of affordable housing and lacks apartments for people with mental health illnesses.
'I think it addresses many needs (for) the city of Springfield, and I'm not in favor of having another empty building on State Street,' City Councilor Kateri Walsh said. 'It will help a lot of people.'
There were no objections to the remaining projects.
City Councilor Jose Delgado called the proposals a good mix of improvements that will affect 10 different neighborhoods. He said he was happy that several other projects will help the city address the affordable housing crisis.
Among the grants is one for $250,000 that will be given to Habitat for Humanity to help build a home for a low- or moderate-income first-time homebuyer on Hancock Street. The committee also continued its annual contributions to a program that helps first-time homeowners with down payment assistance and another that helps residents improve historic homes.
'We had many applications this year for (a) leaky roof and, of course, the worst thing for a historic building is water penetration,' McCarroll said.
The committee recommended assisting the new owners of the historic Paramount Theater and Massasoit House with their $1.2 million project to replace the roof with a $300,000 grant.
It also awarded the Ecumenical Church on Eastern Avenue $151,000 and Daniel's New Bethel Church $94,000 each for roof replacement.
The historic Ames House on Maple Street, owned by Commonwealth Academy, also will receive a grant to replace the roof.
'This is one of the still-damaged historic homes on Maple Street from the 2011 tornado. We are recommending $155,000 … to rebuild the roof to the appearance it had prior to the tornado.'
Read the original article on MassLive.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Polson and Ronan have competitive mayoral races
Jun. 19—A few races have materialized for municipal elections since last Wednesday's filing deadline. Two candidates have filed for mayor in Polson and Ronan and four candidates are vying for two positions on the St. Ignatius Town Council. In Polson, Ward 2 City Commissioner Laura Dever will face Phillip Marlow Thelen, who sits on the Local Government Study Review Commission, in the race for mayor. The seat is currently held by Eric Huffine. Lori Schrader-Young has filed to replace Dever in Ward 2; incumbent Jake Holley seeks to retain his seat in Ward 1 for a second term; and Tracie McDonald is vying to replace Brodie Moll, who is stepping down from Ward 3 after serving two terms. In Ronan, City Councilman Ryan Corum will face Wendy Davis in the race for mayor, a seat currently held by Chris Adler. Incumbent Lindsay Myers seeks to retain her seat in Ward 2, and Micah Robertson has filed to replace Corum in Ward 3. Incumbent Allysen Jones is the sole candidate for city judge. In St. Ignatius, incumbents Chris Heffern and Daniel Thompson face Shay Farmer and Steve McCollum in the race for two openings on the four-member council. Incumbent Daren Incashola is the only candidate for mayor and Mary Leishman has filed to retain her post as town judge. Municipal elections are Nov. 4.
Hamilton Spectator
4 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in New York's primaries
WASHINGTON (AP) — Voters across New York state on Tuesday will pick nominees in municipal primaries that include high-profile comeback bids in New York City by a former governor and a former congressman who both left office mired in scandal. At the top of the ballot, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo leads a crowded 11-candidate Democratic primary field for New York City mayor nearly four years after resigning from office following allegations he sexually harassed 11 women . State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani has also emerged as a major contender for the nomination , winning key endorsements from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Also vying for the nomination are City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Comptroller Brad Lander . The winner of the Democratic mayoral primary typically is the heavy favorite for the general election in overwhelmingly Democratic-leaning New York City. This year's party nominee will face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who was elected as a Democrat but skipped Tuesday's primary to run as an independent in November. Adams was indicted in a 2024 corruption case that President Donald Trump's Justice Department later dropped . Curtis Sliwa , founder of the anti-crime patrol group the Guardian Angels, will once again be the Republican Party nominee. In the Democratic primary for New York City Council District 2, former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner is seeking to return to elected office more than a decade after multiple sexting scandals ended his congressional career, doomed his 2013 mayoral bid and resulted in a 21-month federal prison sentence . Weiner faces four other candidates, including state Assemblyman Harvey Epstein. A total of 30 City Council districts will hold contested primaries Tuesday. Also facing a primary is Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg , who won a criminal conviction against Donald Trump in 2024. He faces a challenge from attorney Patrick Timmins. The New York City contests use a ranked-choice voting system in which voters may rank up to five candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest vote-getter is dropped, with that candidate's votes reallocated to voters' next-highest choices. Ranked-choice voting is used only to determine winners in contests with more than two candidates in which no one receives a majority. The process is not used in any other jurisdiction in the state. Across the state, voters will decide primaries for local offices, including a competitive contest for Buffalo mayor. In the Democratic primary, acting Mayor Christopher Scanlon seeks a full term after replacing Buffalo's longest-serving mayor, Byron Brown, who resigned in October to head an off-track betting agency. He faces a tough challenge from state Sen. Sean Ryan, who has the endorsement of the county Democratic Party. Also running are City Council member Rasheed Wyatt, former fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield Jr. and community organizer Anthony Tyson-Thompson. The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it's determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why. Under New York state election law, an automatic recount is triggered in races with more than 1 million votes if the margin of victory is fewer than 5,000 votes. For smaller races, the automatic recount is triggered if the margin of victory is either 0.5% or less, or up to 20 votes. In a ranked-choice election, if the margin between the final two candidates meets the recount threshold, then all the ballots in the election are recounted round by round. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome. Here's a look at what to expect Tuesday: Primary day New York will hold municipal primaries across the state on Tuesday. Polls close at 9 p.m. ET. What's on the ballot? The AP will provide vote results and declare winners in primaries for many of the top elected positions in New York City, including mayor, Manhattan district attorney, comptroller, public advocate and borough president of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan. Also covered are contested New York City Council primaries, mostly Democratic, in 30 districts and the Democratic primary for Buffalo mayor. Who gets to vote? New York has a closed primary system. Registered party members may vote only in their own party's primary. How are ranked-choice voting results reported? In New York City, initial vote results released on primary night will include preliminary tallies only of first-choice votes. These results are not final or official. As these results are reported, the AP will call winners in races in which it's clear a candidate will receive more than 50% of the vote, either in the initial count or once ranked-choice results are counted. City election officials are expected to release preliminary results a week after the primary. This involves running the ranked-choice voting process on just the ballots that have been tabulated by that time. These results will not be final or official and may continue to change as all remaining ballots are processed and tabulated. This means that it's possible, at least in theory, that the leading candidate when preliminary ranked-choice voting results are released may go on to lose the election once all the ballots have been counted and the final ranked-choice voting results are determined. The AP will call a winner based on ranked-choice voting results if it's clear another candidate cannot catch up when additional votes are counted. What do turnout and advance vote look like? As of Feb. 20, there were 5.1 million registered voters in New York City. Of those, 65% were Democrats and 11% were Republicans. About 1.1 million voters were not registered with any party. Slightly more than 1 million voters cast ballots in the 2021 New York City primaries, about 27% of eligible voters, according to the city's Campaign Finance Board. About 12% of ballots in that primary were cast before election day. How long does vote-counting usually take? In the 2024 presidential election, the AP first reported New York City results at 9:01 p.m. ET, about a minute after polls closed. New York City's election night tabulation ended for the night in Queens at 12:25 a.m. ET with about 90% of total ballots counted across the city. Are we there yet? As of Tuesday, there will be 133 days until the November general election. ___ Follow the AP's coverage of the 2025 election at . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Making NYC affordable: Where the mayoral primary candidates stand on the housing crisis
NEW YORK — New York City is facing intertwined housing and affordability crises, with record rents and historically low apartment vacancy rates. About half of households struggle to pay for the basics while a quarter live in poverty. Within the debate over affordability, finding ways to create more affordable housing has become a major concern for voters. With the Democratic primary for mayor approaching on Tuesday, the Daily News is breaking down some of the key issues for voters and where each candidate stands on them. Here is how the contenders have proposed tackling the housing crisis on social media, in interviews, during debates and as part of their formal policy plans. We have included the top seven candidates who met the fundraising thresholds to qualify for the second debate. Adams has touted her housing record as Speaker, saying she is 'doing the work' with large-scale rezonings like City of Yes, Innovation QNS and the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan. As mayor she pledged to 'use every tool available' to address the housing crisis by cutting red tape and using emergency powers to get affordable housing built. She and the broader City Council also passed an expansion of the CityFHEPS rental assistance program as part of a protracted legal battle with Mayor Eric Adams. She has indicated she supports a rent freeze at least this year for tenants in rent-stabilized apartments. Cuomo has said he would use 'every option available' to develop 500,000 new apartments over a 10-year period. During the first debate, the former HUD secretary vowed to 'blow up' the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development to minimize bureaucracy, a proposal that was warmly received by real estate players but balked at by tenant advocates. Cuomo has not supported a rent freeze for rent-stabilized tenants, dismissing it as a 'politically convenient posture.' Opponents of a freeze have argued that the cost of operating and maintaining buildings would continue to rise while rents remained flat, potentially putting property owners in a precarious financial position. Lander has said he would be 'the best-prepared housing mayor,' citing his years in urban planning and work passing the Gowanus rezoning while on the Council. His lengthy housing plan involves declaring a housing emergency to expedite the development of 500,000 new units of housing over a decade, including on city-owned golf courses. It also calls for coming down harder on 'irresponsible' landlords and increasing funding for NYCHA and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Lander has called for a one-year rent freeze in his capacity as comptroller and expressed an openness to doing so again as mayor. Mamdani has made freezing rents for rent-stabilized tenants a centerpiece of his campaign, saying he would do so for all four years if elected mayor. His housing plan would triple the City's production of affordable housing with the aim of producing 200,000 new homes over ten years. Mamdani would also fast-track 100% affordable projects, double the money being spent to preserve public housing and beef up municipal housing agencies. Mamdani proposes funding many of his ambitious plans by increasing taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers. Myrie has pitched himself as the 'YIMBY' candidate, with a plan to build and preserve one million homes over a decade. It includes revitalizing NYCHA, building more in Midtown, reallocating shelter financing for housing and expanding the Right to Counsel program. Myrie has called for a one-year rent freeze for tenants in rent-stabilized apartments and said he would consider it in the future. Stringer's housing plan — dubbed 'Mitchell-Lama 2.0' — includes developing affordable homes by building on underutilized city-owned lots and reclaiming derelict properties from neglectful landlords. He further hopes to bolster public housing by securing $40 billion for NYCHA improvements. The former hedge fund manager summarized his housing mantra as 'unleash the private sector.' Tilson says he would cut red tape in order to create more affordable housing by streamlining zoning and approval processes, and said the city should be constructing at least 100,000 new units annually. Tilson indicated at the second debate that he does not support a rent freeze for rent-stabilized tenants this year.
