Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Celebrates Grand Re-Opening of Ellis Block
A huge strip of 35 mm film replaced the traditional red ribbon for the celebratory ribbon cutting marking the July 14 opening of the Ellis Block in downtown Springfield.
A fire on July 8, 2008 destroyed nearly all of the Ellis Block, leaving behind an uninhabitable and vacant building shell on Main Street in downtown Springfield. The town movie theater and a beauty salon were located on the main floor and a small thrift shop operated in the basement. The second and third floors had 15 rooms with common area bathrooms and a kitchen.
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Representative Alice Emmons and Senator Alice Nitka join SHU’s Bill Morlock and Nancy Owens
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“The challenge was to maintain the historic nature of the Ellis Block while bringing back a cinema and needed housing to the downtown,” said Housing Vermont President Nancy Owens. “Thanks to Senator Leahy and the organizations and individuals here today, we were able to accomplish that,” Owens said.
Funding for the redevelopment of the Ellis Block included $1.4 million in federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program grants made possible by a provision of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 authored by Senator Patrick Leahy. Senator Leahy also secured a $125,000 HUD appropriation made available through Preservation Vermont.
The Green Mountain Housing Equity Fund IV provided a tax credit equity investment of $1,313,050. NBT Bank provided construction financing. Other sources include HUD; the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board; Vermont Housing Finance Agency; Vermont Department of Economic, Housing and Community Development; Town of Springfield; Springfield Housing Unlimited; and the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation.
“Today we celebrate the power and tenacity of a community which rallied in response to a fire which destroyed an important community asset,” said Bill Morlock who represented Springfield Housing Unlimited. “We genuinely appreciate the support we received from the community, Senator Leahy, investors and state agencies,” Morlock said.
Key Cinemas will operate the movie theater which features three screens with state-of-the-art equipment. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows-Part 2 is the first film to be shown.
The nine apartments range in size from 410 to 575 square feet. Rent for these one-bedroom units, which includes heat and hot water, ranges from $563 to $682. The apartments will be available August 1.
The Springfield Housing Authority will manage the rental units for the private owner.
“We are expecting that these attractive, efficient new apartments will generate a lot of interest,” Morlock noted.
William Maclay Architects designed the building and Ingram Construction was the general contractor.