The MCDI closed in 2013 and the owner abandoned the property, becoming a “zombie property”. In 2016, a devastating arson related fire occurred at the property that took over 40 hours to extinguish and damaged more than half of the building. The property, 140 Wilbraham Avenue, was foreclosed by the City for the non-payment of taxes in 2019, after a lengthy legal review in Land Court. Mayor Sarno and his administration has worked expeditiously to secure funding to demolish and cleanup the site with an eye on future development to meet the needs of the neighborhood.
Mayor Sarno stated, “I want to thank Adrienne Osborn for reaching out to my office to set up this meeting to discuss our continued efforts to purge this blighted property from our neighborhood. It was a good neighborhood update meeting to discuss and update the residents on the history of the old MCDI property and answer any and all questions on the upcoming demolition process and seeking future neighborhood input on potential development opportunities that would benefit the community. My administration looks forward to keeping our residents informed on the future demo plans and any potential development opportunities in the near future.”
Those attending the meeting on behalf of the City of Springfield were: Fire Commissioner BJ Calvi, Building Commissioner Steve Desilets, Health and Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris, Police Deputy Chief William Cochrane, Chief Development Officer Tim Sheehan, Director of Disaster Recovery Tina Quagliato Sullivan, Director of Capital Asset Construction Peter Garvey, Senior Project Manager for Capital Asset Construction My-Ron Hatchett, Mayoral Aide Lavar Click-Bruce, and Communications Director William Baker.
The City’s environmental consultant Brian Williams from ATC Group Services LLC was also on hand to answer any environmental questions and concerns.
Community activist and residents in attendance were Adrianne Osborn, Pernise Morris, Catherine Lefebvre, Pam Howland, Sheila Henry, and RuthAnn Hamilton-Stutts.
