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Springfield

New Development

MGM Springfield

MGM Springfield’s mixed-use plan envisions an exciting and lively retail, dining and entertainment district that preserves the look and feel of Springfield’s iconic architecture while delivering a modern entertainment experience.  

The project became a reality after going through an exhaustive local competition as well as local and statewide ballot measures. MGM Springfield will be one of the first casinos in the country designed to connect with its surroundings with Main Street ground floor retail, many points of entry, and nongaming related amenities including movies, ice skating, and bowling.

FACTS
  • $950 million dollar casino development project.
  • Will offer 3,000 permanent jobs.
  • Construction complex spans three blocks in the South End- Downtown and approximately 14.5 acres.
  • September 2018 opening date.
  • 251-room four-star hotel, non-smoking casino, movie theaters, restaurants, retail space, a luxury bowling facility and an ice rink.
  • Commitment to use local venues to bring first class entertainment to downtown
  • 3,400 space parking garage
  • 54 units of new market rate housing in the downtown
  • Strategically and conveniently located parking garages will make access easy.
  • Linked to Union Station and other central locations with a trolley system.
  • MGM will be an “Inside-Out” urban casino resort rather than a self contained “big-box” project.
  • When MGM Springfield opens for business, the City will receive in excess of $25 million dollars annually which will be used to enhance public safety, support early childhood education as well as for general public purposes.
COMMUNITY IMPACT STORY

As part of the $950 million project, MGM Springfield will make a series of community impact payments to address additional local needs including funding that will create a focused downtown policing district. Funding has also been provided to improve Riverfront Park, Franconia Golf Course, Union Station, and establishing an annual fund to help assist in early childhood education, health, and other community based impacts in Springfield.


Mayor Domenic J. Sarno

“The Springfield renaissance is underway and MGM Springfield is the catalyst our city needed to help jumpstart the revival. With thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in economic activity; the economic center of Western Massachusetts is on the rise.”

Union Station

Through the concerted efforts of Congressman Richard Neal, Mayor Domenic Sarno, the Springfield Redevelopment Authority, and the dedication of the community, historic Springfield Union Station has moved forward in being fully redeveloped into a regional intermodal hub for Amtrak, commuter rail, and regional and intercity bus service.

Union Station

After decades of being mothballed, the historic Union Station main terminal building completed its historic restoration in early 2017, welcoming passengers from rail and bus. The station is home to Amtrak rail as well as new commuter rail service to Hartford and New Haven starting in 2018, and erves as a regional hub for both intercity and intracity bus services. The facility is expected to play host to approximately 5 million passengers a year.

History

Built in 1926, Springfield Union Station was part of a series of civic buildings and spaces in central Springfield. The complex stands as a successor to three earlier stations on or near the same spot on the north edge of Downtown. From 1926 until after World War II, rail travel thrived and Springfield Union Station was the heart of a bustling district that included the North Blocks of Downtown and the adjacent North End. The Station closed in the 1970’s, a result of the movement to the suburbs and the decline in intercity rail. In the decades since, the Main Street core south of the Station has seen concerted public and private reinvestment through new construction and extensive reuse of historic structures, as City leadership embraces a movement to reclaim the distinguished character of Springfield in an effort to preserve its heritage.

Union Station by the Numbers

  • $94 million historic restoration
  • 10,000 SF of retail space at the concourse level with retail and food
  • establishments
  • 57,000 SF of office space on the upper floors of the historic station.
  •  26-bay integrated, open-air regional and intercity bus terminal
  •  Six-level, 377 space parking garage at the corner of Main Street and
  • Frank B. Murray Street.
  • The complete renovation of the Terminal Building and its central con
  • course to support ticketing, waiting and support areas for Amtrak, inter
  • city and state-supported regional rail service as well as regional PVTA
  • and intercity bus operations.
  • The renovation and reactivation of the Amtrak passenger tunnel linking
  • the Terminal Building to train platforms and the adjacent downtown area.

CRRC Corporation

International company picks Springfield for North American hub

Bringing the largest construction project to the East Springfield neighborhood in many years, CRRC Rail Corporation is starting to prepare for undertaking it’s $566 million contract with the MBTA to assemble new railcars for the MBTA subway lines. The $95 million state of the art facility is over 220,000 square feet and will employ over 150 new employees. The company has plans for future growth on the site, with potential for another new building.

The company will manufacture 284 subway cars in total - 152 for the Orange Line and 132 for the Red Line under the initial contract. Delivery of first cars is slated for 2018, and CRRC continues to pursue new contracts with the Boston system as well as cities across the country. The company won a competition to produce 64 new subway cars for the metro system in Los Angeles, CA, a contract of over $178 million that would be fulfilled in the Springfield plant, with an option for an additional 218 cars.

HISTORY OF SPRINGFIELD RAIL CAR MANUFACTURING

Wason Manufacturing Company was once a premier manufacturer of railway passenger coaches and streetcars located in Springfield, Massachusetts. Founded by Charles and Thomas Wason in 1845, the brothers concentrated on manufacturing streetcars and electrified railway cars until 1932, the time of the Great Depression, which eventually forced the closing of the plant. Among other Wason streetcars on display in museums located across the country, an 1896 model sits at the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum and a 1901 model at the Connecticut Trolley Museum.

Page last updated:  Thursday, August 19, 2021 11:11 am