­­­SPRINGFIELD – After sitting vacant for decades, the 13-31 Elm St. building in downtown Springfield will undergo a major multi-million dollar redevelopment.

City and state officials gathered in Court Square on the afternoon of Aug. 27 to make the official announcement.

Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Rep. Richard Neal, state Sen. James Welch, state Rep. Joe Wagner, Mayor Domenic Sarno, and MGM Springfield President Chris Kelly were among those in attendance for the announcement.

The building, which was previously the site of the former Court Square Hotel and Byers Block, will undergo a $51.3 million redevelopment and preservation effort.

The project will transform the former hotel building into “74 new market rate and workforce housing apartments to address the housing needs that exist in Downtown Springfield and the Commonwealth,” the Sarno Administration said. Retail space is planned for the bottom floor of the building, with Peter Picknelly of Peter Pan Bus Lines and Andy Yee of the Bean Restaurant Group exploring the location for their next cooperative venture.

Financial contributions to the project include $5 million from MassMutual, $14.5 million from MassHousing’s Workforce Housing Initiative and $16 million from MGM. MGM’s financial contribution satisfies the obligation made in their Community Host Agreement with the city of Springfield to construct 54 market rate apartments in the downtown area.

While those apartments were originally going to be a part of the casino, the plan proved not to be financially feasible and MGM instead purchased the former school department building on State Street.     That plan, too, changed when Sarno asked MGM officials to instead build the market rate apartments as part of the redevelopment for 13-31 Elm St.

In addition to funds from financial contributors, the Sarno Administration said developer OPAL/WinnDevelopment secured an additional $11.3 million for the project in state and federal historic tax credits. These credits, the administration said, will be applied “together with developer equity, a conventional mortgage and a commitment from the Unions Trades to assist with $500,000 of housing funds.”

Currently, as their contribution to the project, the city and the Springfield Redevelopment Authority (SRA) are conducting a $4 million environmental cleanup of “potentially hazardous materials” from the building. The work being done by Springfield-based City Enterprises Inc., is expected to be done in mid-November. A press release from the Sarno Administration said in addition to the cleanup being done, “structural renovations” were also taking place in the first six floors of the building.

At the announcement, Picknelly spoke of how his father began the push for the redevelopment of the Elm Street property more than two decades ago. “He knew then that Springfield could not see its full potential with this building being abandoned, in decay in its center core,” he said.

Baker, too, commented on the project being a “real opportunity” for Springfield and spoke of Sarno’s relentless nature regarding the project. He said the project was “one of the largest investments we’ve ever made of its kind,” but called it “a bargain.”

Additionally, Baker expressed happiness to be celebrating the announcement in the midst of all the pain caused by the coronavirus. While speaking about the virus, he commended Sarno and Springfield for being “free of COVID,” as it was announced that there were no new cases of the virus in the city for the first time just two days before Baker’s visit on Aug. 25. This milestone, Baker said, meant “people were doing what they needed to keep people safe.” He said while Springfield is known for its history, the city has “great days ahead of it, and today is one of those days.”

Neal also referenced the progress and accomplishments the city had made in regard to the coronavirus, and said they were “not going to get economic recovery until you defeat the virus.”

In addition to commending Sarno’s work within the city and on the Elm Street development, Neal reflected on how long the project had been in the works and stated that he had voted for an industrial revenue bond when he was on the city council years ago. Additionally, Neal referenced the history of Court Square and the bustling atmosphere that used to take place there. The development, he said, was “going to bring this back to life.”

Sarno joked that he’d had Baker on speed dial regarding the project, and thanked the numerous people who had worked to bring the project into fruition throughout the years. “People have talked about this project. Thirty years on this project, it’s finally come to fruition,” he said.

He said there had been some “dark days,” but the project would not only “force development,” but also help the “psyche of the city.” Additionally, Sarno said he hoped that the private and public partnership that had taken place to help the Elm Street project come into fruition would prove to be an example for partnerships across the country.

Springfield City Councilor and lawyer Michael Fenton said “Springfield’s A team stepped forward” to help ensure that the Elm Street development took place. He said the “complicated project” would demonstrate a “story of collaboration that is going to have a historical impact on this historical place.”

As of Aug. 27, City Enterprise Inc. was 25 percent of the way through the removal of hazardous materials and renovations in the first six floors of the building. The Sarno Administration outlined the renovation progress so far in a press release and said, “Progress to-date includes the abatement of asbestos containing plaster throughout the building, replacement of deteriorated wood framing and interior masonry repairs.”

All work, they said, is “being performed to preserve the historical character of the building so that they can be a feature in the next phase of the project where the development team will fully renovate and restore the entire site.”

After the renovations and removal of hazardous materials are completed, the street level of the building will be restored “for retail and restaurant use while the upper floors will be converted from the original hotel rooms to new one and two-bedroom apartments.”

Currently, the project is estimated to be finished in the spring of 2022.