Bailey schoolhouse developer seeks blight designation

The 86-year-old former Bailey alternative high school at 501 W. Central St. sits vacant and deteriorating. A Springfield developer who recently purchased the historic building wants to change that.

Last night, Springfield City Council held a first reading for a bill that would designate the property as blighted and institute property tax abatements. The proposal submitted by Bailey School Redevelopment Corp. was presented to council members by Sarah Kern, the city’s interim director of economic development.

Constructed in 1931, the Bailey building has been empty since 2013, Kerner said, noting if the property remains vacant, it has more potential for criminal activity.

“This area could use some reinvestment,” she told council.

Jason Murray, operator of Springfield Loft Apartments LLC, bought the building on Feb. 16 for $300,000 from Springfield Public Schools. The district last year took applications before deciding on a buyer.

Murray plans to invest $2.5 million converting the building into 25 one- and two-bedroom loft-style apartments, leased between $575 and $850 per month. There also will be one three-bedroom unit rented for around $1,150 a month, he said. Physical deterioration includes mold and fungal growth in the basement, broken glass, peeling paint, faulty seals on doors and windows, and areas of standing water on the rooftop, according to the council bill.

“It’s going to take a lot to convert it from an old school into loft-style apartments,” Murray said. “There’s just one unit that forces you to work with the existing structure. It’s an unusual corner of the building, so that one will be a three-bedroom unit.”

Councilman Craig Hosmer said renovating the Bailey building is the right way to use tax abatements. According to council documents, the project would have a $255,000 abatement over 25 years and net the city $89,000 in new taxes.

“Somebody else would have bought this and torn it down,” said Hosmer, typically a critic of blight designations for developers. “We would have lost a structure that has served Springfield for a long time and there’s value in the structures that you preserve.”

Murray agreed.

“Without the abatement, it makes it even harder for the project’s numbers to work and to make it financially feasible,” he said.

Murray last night also sought a blight designation for property at the corner of Cherry Street and Kimbrough Avenue to be redeveloped into Beverly Lofts.

Both measures are scheduled for a vote at council’s April 3 meeting.

Editor Eric Olson contributed.