Business Development

A consultant that has provided guidance to city officials on all facets of the MGM Springfield casino project is now offering a blueprint on how the city should capitalize on that nearly $1 billion private investment to create a downtown “renaissance.” Representatives of Chicago Consultants Studio Inc., discussed the report, titled “An Economic Development Strategy…

Alex Dixon, the general manager of MGM Springfield, says it’s easy to teach a new casino employee how to deal cards. What they can’t teach is a smile. “One thing that never fades is a smile,” Dixon said to a crowd of 300 people at the Commonwealth Workforce Coalition conference in Worcester on Thursday. “And…

A developer said this week that a plan to redevelop a long-vacant historic block on Elm Street at Court Square has risen in cost to an estimated $50 million to $55 million. That makes the next 60-90 days critical developers try to secure additional funds to make the project a reality. Peter A. Picknelly, who…

The Colvest Group of Springfield will buy the former Lynch School at 1575 Northampton St. for $250,000, raze the building and build a retail site with a bank and other tenants after City Council approval at City Hall Tuesday. The Council voted 12-0 to approve the sale. To build the retail site, Colvest will need…

The nonprofit group Way Finders, formerly known as HAPHousing, has released renderings of the new 35,000-square-foot home it intends to build on the site of the soon-to-be abandoned Peter Pan Bus station. The move to the North End will bring benefits for the agency and its many types of clients, but it will also generate…

The Republican brought home seven first-place prizes and several other commendations earlier this year in the New England Better Newspaper Competition. Recently retired photographer Dave Roback won two first-place prizes, in the feature photo and portrait categories, for images a child cooling off at Hampton Ponds in Westfield and two veterans at a Memorial Day ceremony in East…

The long wait is over as a new Holiday Inn Express opened this week at the former Epiphany Tower on lower State Street as MGM Springfield was announcing an early opening date a block away. “This has been a pleasure that we are open finally on April 24, which was a very exciting day for us…

DevelopSpringfield’s dormant Innovation Center project at 270-284 Bridge St. could restart construction in the next few months once DevelopSpringfield gets an expected loan from MassDevelopment, the state’s economic development and finance agency. Little work has been done at the site for about a year. Once the loan is approved, work could restart at 270-284 Bridge…

A West Springfield construction company has begun a $1 million renovation project at Stearns Square and Duryea Way that includes a refurbished historic fountain and improved pedestrian ways. JL Construction Corp. was awarded the project after submitting the low bid of $1,068,000 in February, said Peter Garvey, the city’s director of capital asset construction. JL Construction…

A Boston company has offered to pay the city $300,000 for seven tax-title downtown lots on Worthington and Winter streets as part of a $13.8 million project for market rate apartments and retail space at the adjacent Willys-Overland building. The offer made by Davenport Advisors LLC, of Boston, was the sole bid submitted for the city lots…