Monday evening, March 5, the Springfield City Council voted against tax increment financing (TIF), refusing to grant tax incentives to a business that would have dramatically expanded the market rate housing downtown. This marks a reversal of recent unanimous votes for the Council in support much needed market rate housing in recent years. What changed? In December 2012, the Council unanimously voted to create a special district for market rate housing downtown. In June 2015, SilverBrick Lofts, under the corporate name of 15 Taylor St LLC, won a five year TIF for renovations to 266 units that would become the centerpiece of the City’s market rate housing program downtown. It’s important to note that this vote was also unanimous!

However, this past Monday, the City Council abruptly reversed course and denied the same parent company a very similar TIF by a 7-5 vote - three of the “no” votes were “yes” votes less than three years ago. It is in the best interest of Springfield to stay the course, otherwise it is a disservice to the foundation that was started by the nine remaining councilors from the December 2012 vote.

Christopher Caputo
Springfield