The view down Springfield’s Harrison Street from Chestnut, standing approximately right in front of the local package store. Looks like the naked tree at center got the memo on looking as bleak as possible. Photo by Heather Brandon

According to the Armoury-Quadrangle Civic Association‘s October newsletter (PDF), changes are coming to the corner of Harrison and Chestnut Streets, rehabilitating "a major eyesore and safety hazard in the neighborhood," otherwise known as that hulking, vacant parking garage that looks straight out of Saw II. From the newsletter:

[WinnDevelopment, which owns adjacent 55+ Museum Park Apartments at 70 Chestnut Street] has…received approval to renovate the parking garage attached to Museum Park. …The company plans to begin the reconstruction project in late November and hopes to be done by early next year.

This sounds like a good thing. Walking by this location recently, which holds a lot of promise for street-level retail around the intersections of Chestnut Street with Mattoon Street or Bridge Street—at Apremont Triangle—I was struck by how the empty spaces in the vacant garage yawn out at passers-by even on the brightest, warmest of cheery autumn afternoons.


The parking garage at Harrison and Chestnut Streets will get a makeover this winter. Proud Museum Park Apartments stands behind, ready to offer moral support. Note the hole in the ceiling. Photo by Heather Brandon

A downtown resident told me that people have recently been stealing the metal grating protecting the open-air windows. The structure also has a lot of environmental problems. Here’s to the new year.