Plans to redevelop the historic Paramount Theater in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts have received a financial boost.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded the city a $3.6 million loan guarantee for the project.
Congressman Richard Neal said a revitalized Paramount Theater can be a destination for travelers arriving at nearby Union Station.
" Preserving that building I think is a very important consideration in and of its own," Neal said.
The property is owned by the New England Farm Workers Council, which is proposing to turn the closed theater into a performing arts center.
Plans call for converting the adjoining Massasoit Building, built in 1857, into an 85-room hotel.
The total cost of the project has been estimated at $41 million.
SLUG: EASTWESTRAIL
