MassDevelopment

Springfield Technical Community College Assistance Corp. Completes Construction of High School with MassDevelopment Loan


November 17, 2015


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 617-448-9077 (cell)
kabbruzzese@massdevelopment.com

Paul M. Stelzer, Appleton Corporation, 413-540-2703
pstelzer@oconnells.com

MassDevelopment has provided a $1 million loan to Springfield Technical Community College Assistance Corporation (STCCAC). STCCAC developed, leases, and manages the Springfield Technology Park, which is across the street from Springfield Technical Community College.  At the park, STCCAC recently completed construction of Phoenix Public Charter Academy High School, which will serve at-risk students in grades nine through 12 who have been displaced from area public schools. The corporation converted a vacant building into a 31,000-square-foot school building. STCCAC used loan proceeds to complete the school’s renovation and prepare a nearby space for future occupancy. In 2014, MassDevelopment provided a $3.1 million tax-exempt bond on behalf of STCCAC to begin construction of the high school.

“STCCAC’s redevelopment of the Springfield Technology Park has attracted dozens of companies and hundreds of workers to the area,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones. “MassDevelopment was pleased to assist STCCAC as it completed construction of the Phoenix Public Charter Academy High School, which will serve as a critical educational resource and a welcome addition to the park.”

Springfield Technical Community College and the Technology Park are at the site of the former Springfield Armory, the primary center for manufacturing U.S. military firearms from 1777 until it closed in 1968. Part of the park is now the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, featuring the world’s largest collection of historic U.S. firearms. STCCAC leases nearly 400,000 square feet of space in the park to roughly 40 companies, which employ about 800 workers. The U.S. Department of Commerce selected STCCAC as the sole national winner of the 2001 Excellence in Urban or Suburban Economic Development Award. STCCAC also received the International Economic Development Council’s 2002 Excellence in Economic Development Award.

“We are grateful to MassDevelopment and the entire staff for their financial partnership with the Technology Park, allowing us to continue creating jobs and to complete Phoenix Charter Academy, enabling the important mission for at-risk youth,” said Ricky Swaye, Chairman of the STCCAC Board of Directors.

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2015, MassDevelopment financed or managed 294 projects generating investment of more than $2.5 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create about 6,100 jobs and build or rehabilitate about 2,000 residential units.