Condemned complex auctioned

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Longhill Garden Apartments in Springfield went up for auction Thursday, after its owners went into foreclosure.  The complex was condemned more than a year ago.

A boston lawyer representing the company Longhill Acquisitions LLC was the only bidder, winning the property for $2.2 million.

The company already owns the mortgage for the property, but had to go through the forclosure and auction process to take ownership of it.

Longhill Acquisition shares its address with Boston developer, Winn Management Company

A local activist group called Springfield Forward claims Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno isn't letting the community participate in the planning process of the planned low-income development.

George Pappas of Springfield Forward claims the Mayor breached two agreements concerning this project. For one, they claim he is letting the developer use taxpayer money to demolish part of the complex when he originally said they had to fund it themselves. George Pappas said, "Mayor Sarno said the developer had to come to an agreement with the community before moving forward with development plans. That has not occurred, and we have had meetings with the mayor about this breach."

Some residents say they just wanted a say in what the developers used the complex for.

"We could have explored veterans housing, senior housing, perhaps condominiums, perhaps other options," said Richard Carpenter with Springfield Forward.

Here's Mayor Domenic Sarno's comment: "After careful examination and exhaustive inquiries into all viable alternatives, I had made the difficult decision in March 2008, to offer conditional support to Winn Development in its request for state funding for the Longhill Gardens redevelopment project.

One of the conditions I placed upon Winn Development is a requirement that Winn come to a reasonable agreement with the City and the neighborhood residents before moving forward with the development plan. Winn is still in the process of acquiring ownership of the property. Winn will present their development plans to the entire neighborhood at an upcoming meeting that will be hosted by the Forest Park Civic Association and will be open to all City residents including members of Springfield Forward. The date of the meeting has not yet been determined.

The City of Springfield has committed HOME Investment Partnership Funds to this project. The project will include the acquisition of 211 units. Selective demolition will reduce the rental unit count and result in the rehabilitation of the 109 remaining units. The project also will include the creation of a management office to provide quality affordable rental housing opportunities for our working class population.

Non-support of this project by the City would carry great risk. The mortgage holder on the property had clearly stated their intention to liquidate their position to the next highest bidder if Winn Development was unsuccessful in obtaining the necessary funding to go forward with the project. This is a risk too great to bear. The City cannot afford to have Longhill Gardens fall into the hands of an irresponsible landlord or possibly worse, lose the opportunity to redevelop the project, laying the foundation for the buildings to remain abandoned and blighted indefinitely.

The City will continue to work closely with the entire neighborhood and Winn Development as the project progresses."

Some residents were in support of the plan, wanting to clean up the abandoned buildings.

They're hoping it is replaced with a well-managed property, because in the past the area caused a lot of problems.

"If you look at the police record, its been a consistent source of crime and code enforcement violations, of traffic problems, all sorts of crime," said Patricia Triggs.