Springfield’s $2.1 billion courthouse likely needs a zoning change. The state could be in for a fight.
By: Samantha J. Gross, Catherine Carlock – Boston Globe
When Massachusetts officials selected a pitch to build a six-and-a-half story courthouse in Springfield, they hailed the $2.1 billion project known as Liberty Junction as their lowest-cost option for the much-needed new justice center.
But it’s not clear whether the winning team will, or even can, build the project as proposed.
The Liberty Junction developers don’t control the entire site where they pitched putting their courthouse; a key sliver of that land is owned by the city of Springfield, where some prominent officials have fiercely opposed the state’s choice for the project.
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno has decried the proposed courthouse location and the choice of the Liberty Junction developers. This summer, he said the project “does not come close” to being “transformative” for Springfield and its surroundings. The losing bidders have launched a campaign of their own, calling for Governor Maura Healey to stop the construction.
What’s more, as currently designed, the roughly 100-foot-tall building proposed is at least 40 feet taller than zoning allows for the site, a Globe review of city zoning regulations shows. That means developers could have to either seek a variance to move forward, or somehow lop off a substantial chunk of the building’s proposed height.