The Springfield City Council recognized some local talent and the life of a special citizen during its last meeting of the month. It also approved a special permit for a large-scale apartment project, but not without scrutiny.
The chambers were packed in Springfield city hall Monday night as the council held its monthly hearings meeting - a time for hearings on petitions, permit requests and other business that might not appear in a regular meeting.
It started with proclamations recognizing some local achievers. Among them was Lidya Rivera-Early - the founder of Lids Live Well fitness center as well as an annual wellness festival that's grown since its 2022 launch.
Also recognized - 11-year-old Micah Naylor Jr., whose family and friends filled the room as officials recognized a long list of wrestling and martials arts championships the pre-teen has been racking up.
Ward 5 Councilor Lavar Click-Bruce had trouble recognizing all of Naylor’s titles.
“… in 2022 and 2023, [the] Agawam Youth Championship - two times,” Click-Bruce said, naming over a dozen regional, state and national competitions the pre-teen either placed in or won, with the councilor pausing several times amid applause from the chamber.
“Listen, if you’re all going to clap after every championship, we'll be here all night because he’s got a lot,” he joked.
Honoring 'Big Joe'
The night also featured a packed virtual room, filled with family members and friends of the late Alvin McKenzie joining remotely.
Also known as "Big Joe," McKenzie immigrated to the U.S. in 1975. With little education or job off the bat, McKenzie would pursue higher education, earning degrees after earning his GED, including a bachelor’s degree in social services from Springfield College - a journey his family and Springfield College continue to honor with the Alvin J. McKenzie Scholarship Fund.
While McKenzie died 18 years ago, his family on Monday made their case for bestowing an honorary street sign bearing his name in the Upper Hill neighborhood, near the college.
"My dad was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. He came to America in his early-to-mid-40s. He passed away in 2007, but he loved Springfield so much that he had his body flown back to Springfield from Houston, Texas, where he was living [at the time],” his son Amaricko McKenzie said.
He and others would speak to McKenzie's life and character - a man who raised a large family while working at Baystate Medical Center as a security guard for years before retiring, all while encouraging neighbors to pursue their own educations. The petition received overwhelming approval from the council.
Developer looks to convert trio of Maple Street buildings into apartments
Also getting approval was a special permit sought for a large development on Maple Street.
For years, a row of several multi-story, tan brick structures have been home to medical offices and an assortment of other tenants at 110, 120 and 128 Maple Street. Recently, for just over $2 million, they were acquired by Praveen Devineni of Shrewsbury.
The plan – convert the office space into as many as 150 apartments. In need of a special permit "for the re-use of an existing structure(s) for residential units," according to the meeting's agenda, Devineni went before the council alongside real estate agent and property manager Jessica Mekal.
“This is a very exciting project we have coming to the area. As most of you know, this building, these three buildings, have been vacant for quite some time, so we're looking forward to providing some much needed housing to the city,” Mekal said, later noting the buildings were at least 80 percent vacant and that she and Devineni had been in touch with the remaining tenants.
Mekal said the project team had been in contact with a number of local authorities, including the South End Citizen Council and the Metro Center Neighborhood Council.
"We've only received support from everybody," she added.
While zoning did not appear to be an issue, councilors had questions about the proposal's scale, including Councilor At-large Sean Curran, who noted while many of the apartments proposed would be one-bedroom units – some had square-footage of about 500, akin to a studio apartment.
Add in the proposed rents of $1,200-$1,400, and Curran, who’s working on an ordinance to better classify apartment sizes and types, said he was concerned.
But, in the face of a regional housing crisis and an opportunity to boost the city’s tax coffers, Ward 3 Councilor Melvin Edwards, whose ward is home to the buildings, urged councilors to support the special permit – especially when other major development opportunities like the Kittredge Building by I-91 have slipped away in the past.
“I would encourage you to do this, because the thing is, I'm not necessarily excited the fact that we've had conversations in the past about the Kittredge Building, and, historically, there was a lot of advocacy because of the age of the building and its historic significance – it’s now storage units,” Edwards said. “And we know, whether you're in favor of a courthouse being built within stone’s throw that or not, that area’s now up for development. What a little patience back then could have done… but the idea that if we don't take advantage of these opportunities - he's not coming to ask for our money, he's just asking for the right to be able to spend his money to build something that he and his team has put together, that would be profitable for him, but, yet, would be a benefit to the city.”
Councilors bucked a motion to continue the hearing to another meeting, instead voting to approve the permit, with only Curran voting “no.”
Mekal says the project will likely involve developing one building at a time and that design work is ongoing.
