Request for developers interested in building new Springfield courthouse to go out in June (2025)

SPRINGFIELD — The state plans to solicit proposals this spring from developers to build and then lease a building to replace the troubled Roderick Ireland Courthouse.

The state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, which is overseeing the project, said it plans to release a request for proposals from developers by the end of June, department officials said.

The Asset Management Board voted in late January to request proposals from private developers interested in constructing a new courthouse and leasing the space to the state.

Developers will have to follow multiple specifications for the courthouse, which should measure roughly 330,000 square feet and have room for juvenile and housing courts. It must be located in Springfield near public transportation, the board said during the vote.

The developer would enter into an agreement to lease the building to the state for a minimum of 40 years with a starting rent of about $30 million a year.

The biggest benefit of a public-private partnership is it could expedite the project and move workers out of an environmentally troubled building that is suspected to have caused the relatively rare neurological disease ALS in at least five employees, including two judges who shared the same office, as well as multiple cancer cases.

Construction could start in late 2026 if a private developer built the courthouse. If officials were to wait for an additional $500 million to be available from the capital budget for a state-owned building, it would take an extra three to eight years to get it started, officials said.

One of the biggest concerns members of the Asset Management Board and some local officials have had about the plan is developers’ interest may be limited since one proposal floated by business mogul Peter A. Picknelly has been frequently touted by city officials.

That plan calls for a mixed-use development with the courthouse as a centerpiece on 14.5 acres of land along the Connecticut River. Some of the land Picknelly proposes to use is owned by The Republican’s parent company.

But state officials said they have a plan to help combat that concern.

“DCAMM anticipates bringing a transaction advisor on board next month, whose role will be to act as the Commonwealth’s broker to help promote the opportunity locally, regionally and nationally,” officials said in a statement.

The Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance will also send representatives to Springfield for an April 30 City Council Finance Committee meeting to discuss the plan in depth.

The 6 p.m. meeting in City Hall will be open to the public and serve as a forum to answer questions and address any issues residents, business owners, the legal community and other stakeholders may have, said City Councilor Timothy Allen, chairman of the Finance Committee.