DCAMM: I wanna leasehold your hand… (WMP&I)

Earlier this month, a state agency with an officious name, the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), held two public hearings about the replacing the Hampden County Courthouse. These were not about where the state might put the now-styled Springfield Regional Justice Center, which would replace the deteriorating, musty and ostensibly unsafe Brutalist incumbent. Rather, they were about how the state might build it.

After receiving proposals, DCAMM scrapped the RFP and announced it would pursue a long-term lease for a new structure the owner would build. To do this, DCAMM must receive permission from the Asset Management Board (AMB). It will review the request at its meeting on Tuesday afternoon. Only the narrow issue of whether to allow a lease for upwards of 60 years is before the AMB. Yet, the question of where it will go looms. There are worries public push for one site could affect the process.

“This public hearing is not a forum for evaluating specific, potential proposal sites, properties or locations,” DCAMM Commissioner Adam Baacke, who also chairs the AMB, said at a virtual public hearing on January 2. “That is a later point in the process.”

In addition to the DCAMM commissioner, AMB members includes three gubernatorial appointees and the Inspector General.

Days before Baacke convened the public hearing, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, in written testimony, again feted a proposal to put the courthouse on land between I-91 and the Connecticut River. It is part of motorcoach mogul Peter Picknelly larger project for the site north of repair facility his company, Peter Pan Bus Lines, owns.

Shorter Sarno: Anything with a river view?
The mayor plugged Picknelly’s idea in writing, but not verbally. (still via Focus Springfield)

“I have made it very clear; I am in full support of the relocation of a new Roderick Ireland Courthouse to the north riverfront area,” Sarno said in a December 30 statement previewing his testimony. He again touted the promises of housing, restaurants, and a marina at the site.

Baacke’s admonition largely kept the conversation on topic on January 2. Sarno did appear but stopped short of reading his whole testimony or mentioning Picknelly’s proposal.

That may not address fears the bid process will appear uncompetitive. That could dilute the pool of potential bids for the development and long-term lease.

While this is a state project, and therefore entirely outside Sarno’s control, his support for Picknelly’s proposal is not new. His December written statement linked to his 2022 announcement of support for a north riverfront courthouse on Picknelly’s property. He remained bullish on the site even after it scored lower than several other locations. This month, Reminder columnist Mike Dobbs reported that Picknelly recently hosted a fundraiser for Sarno.

The courthouse at 50 State Street, officially the Roderick Ireland Courthouse and formerly the Hampden County Hall of Justice, has become an bête noire, and with good cause. In addition to leaks and structural troubles, it has a reputation as a sick building. Employees have linked it to a host of health conditions including cancers and cases of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).

According to Baacke, the decision to skip construction of a state-owned building and lease one arises from a math problem. He said the state’s capital project spending is already oversubscribed. Put another way, the state has more projects it expects to require financing than it has bonding capacity over the next few years. This financial reality would not rule out the state directly constructing a new courthouse in Springfield. Still, that option could take longer to happen. Given the courthouse’s condition, a longer timeline is undesirable officials explained at the hearings.

A slide on DCAMM’s presentation said a 2023 assessment said construction of a new facility at 50 State Street would cost $640 million. This includes the cost of relocating court functions during demolition and construction.

A long-term lease—the proposal would be 40 years plus two 10-year options—lets the state spread costs over time. The developer would build the structure and rely on lease payments as revenue. While DCAMM is managing the project, the actual user is the Trial Court system. The lease payments would come out of the Trial Court’s budget.

A formal request for bids will go out after AMB makes its decision. A new courthouse with at least 330,000 square feet would replace the Ireland Courthouse and the former county courthouse at 80 State Street. The Ireland building officially houses Springfield District Court, Hampden Superior and Probate courts and the offices of the Register of Deeds, Register of Probate and District Attorney. Several offices have decamped for other locales due to the building’s safety.

Time to retire? (via Wikipedia)

A historic structure designed by 19^th century architect Henry Hobson Richardson, 80 State Street now houses the Juvenile Court and the Western Division of Housing Court. While it does not have the same health problems linked to the Ireland Courthouse, 80 State needs work, too.

The proposal to the AMB lists several goals for the new building.

“The building massing, materiality, and articulation will be critical to its identity as a public building,” the proposal says discussing the state’s functional and symbolic expectation for the courthouse.

“The building must engage with the civic fabric of Springfield for the benefit of users and the public alike,” the proposal states about contributing a role to the city’s urban character. “The Springfield Regional Justice Center represents an opportunity for an important landmark for this Gateway City.”

The AMB needs to weigh in on the proposal to waive several state laws that normally govern leases and public construction. For example, state law usually limits leases to 10 years. This lease well exceeds that.

Besides Sarno, the speakers at the January 2 meeting were generally supportive of replacing the courthouse. They said little about moving forward with a public-private partnership via long-term lease. However, Karen Lee, a city resident, opined against the partnership but Picknelly’s proposal in particular.

“In general, my objection includes any proposal that isn’t built on public land but specifically the North End Riverfront proposal built on the Connecticut River,” she said.

Lee cited concerns about the failures of urban renewal and the impact on the river among her reasons. She suggested the site on which the courthouse now stand be the site of a new one.

DCAMM also held an in-person hearing on January 7 at the State Building on Dwight Street in Springfield. The Reminder reported that most comments were favorable to moving quickly, which the long-term lease would ostensibly do. However, even supporters of a faster timeline were worried about using a lease.

Seeing Stars. What happened in New Bedford may stay in Springfield. (via Wikipedia)

The concerns about leasing are not limited to residents. DCAMM links a September report from Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro that savaged the so-called Star Store lease in New Bedford. At the direction of legislators, DCAMM leased the building for UMass-Dartmouth to use in 2001. The Inspector General at the time, Robert Cerasoli, advised against pursuing the deal.

However, the process was plagued with irregularities, incompetence, mismanagement and a lack of oversight and planning. UMass finally left the building in 2023 after a one-year extension and a period of month-to-month tenancy. However, poor stewardship of the lease allowed an option to buy the building for $1 to expire. Shapiro found no fraud. However, his report identified $4 million in waste due to a “lack of ownership” of the lease and its execution.

The general sense arising from the Star Store report is not that long-term lease is inherently undesirable. Yet, the work that must go into them remains a top concern. In addition to ensuring the bidding process is competitive, in the case of the courthouse, DCAMM and the Trial Court administrator must identify who will manage the lease over its life. That would mitigate some of the issues that arose near and after the end of the term of the Star Store lease.

As Shapiro sits on the AMB, it seems likely that his Star Store report will feature prominently at Tuesday’s meeting. The Springfield courthouse is not even the only long-term lease on the agenda. A similar proposal for South Boston Municipal Court is on the docket, too.

If the AMB advances the Springfield courthouse project, DCAMM expects to release a new request for proposals in the second quarter of this year. The deadline will be before September 30. DCAMM hopes to have a proposal selected and a lease signed in the first and second quarters of 2026 respectively.