‘There is demand’: Owner sees success in rehab of former Southworth mill in West Springfield
Frank McIntyre has followed a simple strategy since buying two of the former Southworth Paper mill buildings at 150 Front St. in West Springfield in 2013. “I picked the easiest parts to fix and did them first,” McIntyre said. “Then as people wanted space, I put up walls and moved on to the next spot.” The last spot, on the ground floor, is a doozy. It’s a soaring bay of former factory space where Southworth once had its papermaking machine. There is still a hole in the floor where the machine, long since sold to Pakistan by the now bankrupt paper maker, was once located.