Bid Detail

15-094 - Redevelopment of Oakland Street Fire Stations

The City of Springfield (hereafter "CITY") is requesting proposals for the redevelopment of E S Oakland Street Formerly known as the Oakland Street Fire Station in the Forest Park Section of Springfield, MA.

The property E S Oakland Street is a visible property that sits on one of the busiest intersections in Springfield. The location is a short walk to many exquisite restaurants, Forest Park Middle School, the Forest Park branch library, post office, Forest Park (one of the largest municipal parks in the U.S consisting of a zoo, beach volleyball, tennis court, baseball diamonds, bocce court, lawn bowling court, basketball courts, rose garden and during the holidays it features the nationally renowned Bright Nights light festival), and is 1 mile from the I91 ramp.

This is a City owned building that was previously occupied as a fire station. Built in 1894 the building sits on the corner of Oakland and Dickinson. The building is 2 stories, with a total area of approximately 7,340 square feet. The E S Oakland Street, parcel # 09210-0132, total lot size is 13,948 square feet, and is Zoned Business A. The assessed value for this property is $271,300.

IMPORTANT: The City recently commissioned a reuse study on its vacant fire stations, including this structure. The report can be found here:

http://www3.springfield-ma.gov/planning/fileadmin/Planning_files/Economic_Development/New_Use_for_Fire_Stations.pdf

Forest Park neighborhood begins one mile south of the Central Business District and is the second largest of the City's seventeen neighborhoods. It contains 2,103 acres of land, 41% of which is conservation or park land. Its boundaries are the Mill River and Watershops Pond to the north; Longmeadow to the south; Connecticut River to the west; the now abandoned Highland Division Railroad to the east.

The property is being sold "as is" and the City makes no representations regarding the environmental and/or physical condition of the properties and will require the buyer to assume responsibility for these conditions. Prospective developers should undertake their own reviews and reach their own conclusions concerning zoning, title and survey matters, required approvals, physical conditions, environmental conditions, reuse potential, utility services and development, leasehold, legal and other considerations. Proposers are responsible for making their own determinations of existing conditions.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

As a standard procedure, the CITY has not made and does not make any representation or warranty as to any matter affecting or relating to this or any parcel for disposition, and the selected developer acknowledges that no such representation or warranty has been made and
agrees to take the site in "as is" condition on the date of this agreement. The City shall not be liable or bound in any manner by any statement, representation, or information pertaining to the facilities which may have been furnished to the developer by any of the City's employees, attorneys, agents, servants or other persons.

The selected developer will have a fair and complete opportunity to inspect the parcel and accepts it "as is" with no exception. The selected developer agrees to indemnify the CITY, and hold the CITY harmless, from all damages, losses, and liabilities (including without limitation attorneys' and experts' reasonable fees and disbursement) arising under federal and state environmental statutes and regulations as a result of a relating to any conditions or activities at or involving the location.

As noted, the City did not complete an asbestos and hazardous materials remediation process as part of the redevelopment. There is an environmental report available for this property. It is up to the prospective developer to research this report and make their own determinations of existing conditions.

SPRINGFIELD PROFILE

Springfield is located along the Connecticut River 25 miles from Hartford, Conn.; 50 miles from Worcester; 80 miles from Albany, N.Y.; 85 miles from Providence, R.I.; 90 miles from Boston; and 140 miles from New York City.

Springfield has a notable history. It was the home of Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, and is the location of the Springfield Museum Quadrangle, which includes the Dr. Seuss sculpture garden. It is also the birthplace of basketball, invented by James Naismith at Springfield College, and home to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Other points of interest include the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, Springfield Symphony Hall, CityStage, the Artists at Indian Orchard Mills complex, the Community Music School and many other arts and cultural attractions.

The Springfield Museums, located on the State Street Corridor, house one of the most comprehensive collections of Currier & Ives prints in the world, and the G.W. Vincent Smith Art Museum at the Quadrangle holds one of the Western world's largest collections of Chinese cloisonné. The American Hockey League's Springfield Falcons franchise is based in Springfield, as is the league's headquarters. The City is also home to its own symphony - the Springfield Symphony Orchestra is the largest professional orchestra in Massachusetts outside of Boston, and has been existence for 70 years.

From its earliest beginnings Springfield had its roots in industry. In 1776, a national arsenal was sited within Springfield, and, in 1794, it was designated by Congress as the first National Armory. With the dawning of the Industrial Revolution, Springfield experienced growth across a spectrum of manufactured goods: handguns, railroad cars, motorcycles and cars.

Beyond its distinctive historical roots, the City is home to four colleges: Springfield College, American International College (AIC), Western New England University and Springfield Technical Community College (STCC), with a combined enrollment of nearly 20,000 students. Cambridge College has a downtown center located at Tower Square, and UMASS Amherst has opened its own center at the same location in the Fall, 2014. The City is engaged in an economic and cultural partnership with Hartford, Conn., known as the Springfield-Hartford region constitutes New England's Knowledge Corridor, with the second-largest concentration of institutions of higher learning in New England, outside Boston.

Major and prominent employers in the City include the world headquarters of MassMutual Financial Group - which is located on State Street; Liberty Mutual also on State Street; Baystate Health; Mercy Health System; Big Y World Class Markets; Peter Pan Bus Lines; Smith & Wesson; Milton Bradley and Merriam-Webster. Baystate Health completed a $296 million expansion, in 2012, and has created more than 500 new jobs on the 54-acre Baystate Medical Center campus located in the North End of the City. BMC is also the western campus of Tufts University School of Medicine. Baystate is currently the City's largest employer with 9,200 local employees.

Springfield is the third largest City in Massachusetts and fourth largest in New England (behind Boston, Providence, and Worcester). Springfield is commonly known as the City of Homes for its vast stock and variety of historic architecture and housing styles, and as the City of Firsts for its being the home to many "firsts," such as the birth of basketball, the nation's first Armory, the first motorcycle, and the first gasoline-powered commercial car.

There are proposed plans to link downtown Springfield via frequent commuter rail service to Hartford, New Haven and points thereafter including New York City. These locales are already served by Amtrak rail, with daily trips from Springfield.

SITE AND SYSTEMS INFORMATION, STREET ADDRESS

The street address of the subject site is E S Oakland Street, parcel 09210-00132.

Forest Park is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Forest Park real estate is primarily made up of small (studio to two bedrooms) to medium sized (three or four bedroom) small apartment buildings and apartment complexes/high-rise apartments. Most of the residential real estate is occupied by a mixture of owners and renters.
The Forest Park neighborhood has within it multiple historic districts, with a vast stock of architecture and hundreds of historic buildings.

DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT

The City is seeking to select a developer who submits the most advantageous proposal consistent with the selection criteria and proposal requirements set forth in this RFP, and who demonstrates the ability to perform as proposed in a timely fashion.

While the financial benefits (i.e., price paid for the property) of a proposal are important to the selection of a developer, coupled with all selection criteria, the City will also consider the broader fiscal and economic benefits to be realized from the redevelopment project. The City will not be obligated to select the proposer offering the highest purchase price if another proposal better satisfies the selection criteria and other requirements of this RFP as a whole.

The City envisions a development that incorporates any reasonable proposals which could include some or all of the following elements:

• Creating jobs for Springfield residents
• Featuring and preserving historic features and attributes of the property
• Creating positive street level activity on Oakland and Dickinson Street.
• Firm commitment letters from any and all tenants proposed for the building
• Firm financing letters or proof of funding to undertake redevelopment costs
• Timeline to have building occupied

DEVELOPMENT CONDITIONS

• The designated developer, its agents, consultants, engineers, other contractors and designees will be granted a right of entry to advance its due diligence activities, subject to providing the City in advance with certificates of insurance evidencing that such parties have in place reasonable amounts of comprehensive general liability and workers compensation insurance for their activities on the premises.

• The designated developer should give the City 48 hours notice of any required entry to the property.

• The property is being sold in as-is condition, and the designated developer will take responsibility for any and all environmental conditions upon transfer.

• The City will require a certificate of occupancy within 365 days of the transfer of property to the designated developer or the property will revert back to the City.

• Prior to property transfer, the designated developer will produce financial commitment documentation for the value of the project from its lenders and/or funding sources.

• Prior to closing, the designated developer will produce a detailed project schedule and final floor plans for the building.

• The Office of Planning & Economic Development will maintain a Site Plan approval of final landscaping/parking on-site plans. No tree removal or other landscaping or site plan alterations should be made prior to this approval.

F. Restrictions and Requirements

• The property will be conveyed with a reverter clause which will require completion of the development within twelve (12) months of conveyance of the deed and which will require to be occupied by an owner within twelve (12) months.

• An exterior historic preservation restriction shall be set on the property in perpetuity. As such, any exterior building alterations will require approval of the Springfield Historical Commission.

PRICE PROPOSAL

The City will entertain all competitive bids for the property. Price will not be the only factor in selection, but proposers are encouraged to make the best financial benefit case possible to the City and selection committee. The property is currently assessed at $270,300.

HANTICIPATED SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
The anticipated schedule is as follows:

October 08, 2014 RFP advertise in Springfield Republican
October 08, 2014 RFP advertise in MA Central Register
October 08, 2014 RFP issued
October 15, 2014 Site walk (10 AM)
October 22, 2014 RFP questions due by 4:00 p.m
October 29, 2014 RFP questions answered
November 12, 2014 Proposals due by 2:00 PM to Procurement Office
November, 2014 Proposals Reviewed
November, 2014 Committee's Recommendation to Mayor
December, 2014 preferred developer selected

Schedule may be modified as needed at the discretion of the City. Bidders will be notified of any changes by a written addendum. All changes must go through the Office of Procurement.

PRE-PROPOSAL ASSISTANCE/QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

The site is on a major public throughway and can be viewed from the public sidewalks at anytime. Interested parties are asked not to enter the private property at any time, other than the designated site walks. Attachments include further information on the property.

Questions regarding the RFP may be submitted in writing to the Procurement Department. In order to provide prompt answers to questions, the City requests that all proposers submit written questions to the City of Springfield's, Chief Procurement Officer by October 22, 2014 by 4:00 P.M. EST. Questions may be faxed or emailed. The Procurement Department's fax number is (413) 787-6295 email: Lauren Stabilo at lstabilo@springfieldcityhall.com. The City will compile written answers which will be mailed to all Proposers who requested a copy of the RFP, no later than October 29, 2014.

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