Earlier this month, officials learned who was being trusted with building a new courthouse complex in Springfield. It’s a massive undertaking – and a bit of a boondoggle for the building’s owner, who will lease the building to local courts, complete with a $2 billion contract and a 40-year lease.
But, two developers who were not picked are taking the matter to court. WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief James Paleologopoulos has been following the issue and joins Lucas Willard to talk through it.
Willard: So, James, you’ve been covering this for about a year or so – catch me up-to-speed: very quickly, what’s happening here?
Paleologopoulos: So, to get from Point A to Points B and C here, we need to take a look at the current courthouse situation. Springfield is home to Court Square, which includes the Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse, which inside of that is Springfield District Court and Hampden County Superior Court and a number of other important offices.
It’s practically the busiest, non-Boston courthouse in the state. It’s also long been considered a “sick building,” having been riddled with mold and other issues.
It’s been tied to employee illnesses, cancer cases and lawsuits. Also, at least five ALS deaths, including three judges. Basically, the building has to go.
The question, though: how much is the state willing to pay? As it turns out, massive courthouse complexes aren’t cheap – a previous analysis suggested a tear-down, relocation and rebuild on the same State Street lot downtown… would cost about $640 million.
There’s also the matter of timeliness – big state projects like this can take years to get off the ground.
Willard: So, you’ve reported on some of the solutions to this issue and what officials are going along with, including a public/private partnership? Tell me more.
Paleologopoulos: Exactly. The “Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance” or DCAMM, opted for picking a developer to build a new “Springfield Regional Justice Center” to suit, that would house even the neighboring housing and juvenile courts. The state would pay rent for at least 40 years, with two 10-year extensions possible.
Also, the state wouldn’t be paying for maintenance – it doesn’t own the building. Also, construction would conceivably start sooner and, of course, the developer would be getting a reliable tenant as part of the $2 billion lease.
Willard: I think DCAMM rolls off the tongue a little easier than “Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance,” James.
Paleologopoulos: It does, and we’re going to be hearing a lot more about them because they and the developer they picked are the center of a pretty big lawsuit.
To get even more up-to-speed: the project went out to bid last year – at least 11 proposals came in. Two weeks ago, DCAMM said it picked the “Liberty Junction Team,” which will effectively put the new complex across from Union Station.
The team itself is made up of FD Stonewater – that’s a sort of nationwide real estate firm, with offices in Virginia and California. Also – CoJo Partners, which is based in Massachusetts, but in Boston. So is the general construction contractor, Suffolk Construction.
Mayor Domenic Sarno and other critics have seized on that. The mayor held a snap press conference about half-an-hour after the developers were announced and said “Boston powerbrokers are telling the city of Springfield what to do.”
Sarno had been in favor of another proposal that would have seen the courthouse go on the Connecticut Riverfront.
Willard: But it’s not the city or that developer that’s actually suing DCAMM?
Paleologopoulos: Correct. It’s both USPB JV and Springfield Tower Square, LLC. - the former being led in-part by Balise Auto Group CEO, Jeb Balise, while the latter involves Dinesh Patel. His outfit operates Tower Square downtown.
Both were passed over in favor of the $600 million Liberty Junction pitch and are now alleging the selection process was “rife with conflicts of interest.” It specifically names Conan Harris and John Barros of CoJo Partners.
Barros is also the “Interim Executive Director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority” – another long state agency name for you – and it does have a board of directors with at least one other DCAMM member on it.
Harris, meanwhile, is the husband of Massachusetts Representative Ayana Pressley.
The initial court paperwork we have doesn’t dive to deep into Harris – it’s more focused on Barros and the fact that he was named interim executive director earlier this year, while proposals were [presumably] being weighed and vetted.
As the Springfield Republican newspaper has pointed out, the disclosure he was required to file with the State Ethics Commission was reportedly filed, but on July 1, a day before DCAMM’s announcement.
Willard: So, where does that leave us?
Paleologopoulos: Well, it leaves us with a DCAMM and other parties that aren’t able to comment on pending litigation.
A hearing involving Berkshire County Superior Court was slated for Thursday, July 16. WAMC learned that it’s been continued to the first week of August.
