Springfield building falls for parking lot

By JIM KINNEY
Business writer

SPRINGFIELD - The four-story building at Taylor and Chestnut streets in Springfield is coming down to make room for a parking lot.

"When you look around, Springfield needs parking," said Michael J. Brisbois, the site's owner.

He purchased the building at auction form the city in May for $63,000 according to land records at the Hampden County Registry of Deeds.

The building had been empty for at least 30 years, Brisbois said.


Brisbois said he's also leased adjacent property. He's working with the BSC Realty, owners of other property in the neighborhood including the Mardi Gras strip club at Chestnut and Worthington streets. He said the new parking lot will be managed by the same parking lot operators who run other lots in the neighborhood.

Brisbois said he has no plans to build on the site.

Brisbois said he hopes Associated Building Wreckers can have the property graded flat and paved with a temporary layer of asphalt in three weeks or so.

A permanent paving job will have to wait for spring, he said.

Demolition was slowed when Associated Wreckers found more asbestos contamination in the old building than was thought and had to remove an old oil tank from the property. Demolition ended up costing $148,000, Brisbois said.

"An entire project I expected to cost $250,000 will end up costing more like $325,000, he said.