City leaders say the site of a former hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts has been the source of multiple calls to the police and fire departments. Following constant vandalism and an alleged breakdown in communication with the property's owners, the mayor says the city is now taking action.
Mayor Domenic Sarno says the City of Springfield has been pursuing an emergency court order over the conditions of the former Vibra Hospital on State Street, located next to Putnam Vocational, and across from MassMutual’s Springfield campus.
Sarno says the 17-acre site has been the scene of vandalism, illegal dumping, and up until this past week, significant overgrowth and a lack of securing the premises, including a front entrance.
That is, until Friday, when the mayor called a news conference in front of an entrance to the former hospital.
“It is funny - once we decided to light a fire underneath you-know-what, and take them to court, suddenly the three feet of overgrowth grass has been cut, board and securing has been done, but I've had enough,” Sarno said, speaking in front of the structure.
Alleging that tall grass across the property had been mowed and wooden boards were hastily put up as recently as that morning, the mayor and others went through a list of issues the city had been having with the property’s owners for the past few months.
The city previously appeared to be on track to acquire the area that was once home to the Springfield Municipal Hospital. The facility was sold by the city to Olympus Healthcare Group in 1996, with Vibra Heatlhcare later operating the hospital before announcing its pending closure in 2017.
Officials say the hospital was formally closed down in fall 2023, with Springfield looking to acquire it soon after.
According to Springfield Chief Development Officer Tim Sheehan, though, the deal to purchase the property for a dollar fell through, amid multiple issues.
“We had entered into a purchase and sale [agreement] for the building with Vibra - we had negotiated terms on that - they have failed to live up to the terms of that agreement,” Sheehan said. “As I indicated, the maintenance and the security for the facility rested with Vibra in the purchase and sale - and ultimately, we've provided multiple extensions on the agreement to get to closing and at this point, we are just fed up with the condition of the site, the lack of safety of the building, and the inability of them to be able to close on the transaction.”
Another problem, Sheehan says – Vibra had been having issues with providing a clear title for the property.
“They have been trying to deal with the issue of the title on the property, and they've been working towards trying to clear the title so that they could ultimately convey, but that has yet to happen,” he told reporters, adding that he believes there is a mortgage on the property.
In the meantime, the site has remained a safety hazard for locals and emergency responders alike. Shattered glass on the ground as well as needles could be seen on parts of the premises by WAMC. Officials say schoolchildren and squatters have also been able to get inside.
As Springfield Fire Superintendent B.J. Calvi laid out, the building is simply not safe for anyone, including first responders in the event of a significant emergency.
“Anybody who gets inside and starts a fire - it won't be noticed until it’s seen from State Street … from people driving by,” he said. “And at that point, we're going to have a terrible disaster on our hands, especially if people are trapped in the building. This building is what we call ‘a firefighter killer.’ There's so many hallways and levels and doors that are locked from one direction, that we could have a cold storage warehouse-type situation on our hands if we were to get inside this building and have to start searching for people. This is totally unacceptable - the building needs to be secured.”
Calvi called the building’s fire alarm system “totally inoperative,” and said its sprinkler system is currently shut off.
According to Sarno, the site has been visited by police and/or firefighters at least a dozen times. He says the city has fined the owners for over $3,000 as of July 5.
City Building Commissioner Steve Desilets says they have also been cited under the city’s sanitary code when it comes to the overgrowth, illegal dumping, and not securing the property.
Standing in front of the recently put-up boards, Desilets says the job is not up to standard.
“If you look at the boarding and securing on this building, it's not done to the NFPA standards,” Desilets said. “We have sent them multiple letters, asking them to board and secure this thing, threatening fines of up to $1,000 a day and they still have failed to board this properly. Even though they boarded it this morning – and I don’t want to use the language for the type of fashion that they boarded it - I have no doubt this will be broken into again until they get this boarded and secured.”
Vibra Healthcare did not respond to a request for comment from WAMC.
According to Vibra Healthcare's website, the corporation operates facilities in both Rochdale and New Bedford, Massachusetts, and over a dozen other hospitals and centers across the country.
