Considered part of the historical fabric of Springfield, Mass., the site of the Knox Residences was once at the center of commerce and manufacturing in the city. The existing building was formerly home to the Knox Automobile Co., which was a leading manufacturer of gasoline engine vehicles in the early 20th century. The building was constructed in three stages between 1891 and 1910, and Knox built the first modern fire engines and pumper trucks there, but it halted production in 1924.

Completed in December 2023, the redevelopment of the structure into 96 affordable housing units was part of a broader neighborhood initiative that aimed to reverse years of decay, high crime and a low inventory of family-friendly communities. Developer First Resources and NEI General Contracting had their own history with the city. Across the street from the Knox, the team also redeveloped Mason Square Apartments at Indian Motorcycle—another former factory that produced motorcycles used in World War II.

“The NEI and First Resource Development team loves history and found a lot of it with the Knox building,” Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno said in a statement. The firms used “collective experience to hone a redevelopment plan that was sensitive to preserving the historic character of [the redeveloped] buildings and the imprint they have had on the surrounding neighborhood and the city for over 100 years.”

The project includes 300 housing units split between two properties, including 96 units of workforce housing.
Photo by Robert Umenhofer

Preservation Considerations

The Knox team had to preserve the historically significant four-story structure which had major deterioration after years of unuse. This caused collapses in several areas and compromised its load-bearing capacity. “This was a very difficult project because the building was ready to be condemned,” recalls Antonio Tenreiro, NEI project executive. “The roof structure was down on the second floor. When we first got there, we couldn’t get into the building. Everything had collapsed.”

The team ultimately gutted the building, shoring it and removing existing decking, beams and columns that would be rebuilt with new similar product. An elevator was added, requiring additional footings in the basement. Extensive new underground utilities were also added.

NEI and designer The Architectural Team approached redevelopment with comprehensive preservation techniques, planning methodologies and a focus to salvage the character of the original structure. The team had to adapt to mechanical system changes and to complexities of adding code-required modern infrastructure—such as elevators—into the structure.

Maintaining schedule was also critical, as some funding sources had time constraints. Faced with supply chain shortages during COVID-19, the team found solutions, such as milling thousands of replacement tongue and groove wood decking pieces on site when vendor stock was depleted.

To match damaged historic wood flooring on the second floor, the team created prototypes that considered wood species, thickness and availability to ensure a seamless match to the original. Project participants also had to adapt to continuous design changes throughout based on historic requirements, including those associated with replicas such as faux doors and entrances.

NEI salvaged massive fire doors and retained them on site for decorative reinstallation. It also sourced architectural brackets to emulate elements from the site’s former train loading depot, as depicted on a historical postcard. Ultimately, the team was able to maintain the project budget and schedule while meeting its historic preservation requirements.

“Taking a derelict structure and reviving it to fill a crucial social need is very satisfying for an architect, and it’s also quite meaningful to preserve touchstones of New England’s important architectural heritage and industrial past,” says Scott Maenpaa, project manager at The Architectural Team.

The Knox Residences occupies the site of the former Knox Automobile Co., which had been a leading manufacturer of gasoline engine vehicles in the early 20th century.
Photo by Robert Umenhofer

Stick to the Plan

During planning, the team had to be proactive in securing various approvals and addressing any legal concerns associated with transforming a heavy industrial area into a residential one. A special permitting process was implemented with support of the city to ensure the project could move quickly once federal and state funds were released.

Notably, the team needed to create onsite parking that did not previously exist on site. It was able to incorporate the new lot without affecting the original building footprint under a special permitting process with the city.

Throughout the project, team members had to work within a confined budget that required multiple streams of public and private financing. Work was financed using a mix of state and federal housing and historic tax credits and permanent debt with the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, which works with communities to create innovative housing policy and finance options.

The project team’s ties to Springfield and across Massachusetts proved essential in securing funding from the state to restore the Knox facility as an affordable housing project. Use of the historical tax credits helped bring the project across the finish line, as did assistance from the National Parks Service to ensure it met all necessary requirements to trigger release of needed funds.

This required participating in an ongoing audit process to make sure that historical materials were being preserved at every opportunity and that recreation of missing or damaged components was done as accurately as possible.

Still, the team found ways to incorporate higher levels of M/WBE firm representation than on past projects in Springfield, with more than $7.2 million in contracts awarded to MBE firms and more than $7.8 million to WBE companies.

Bringing the project to fruition also required approval within the community, which includes the small but vocal Old Hill and Upper Hill neighborhood councils. The team’s working relationship with the mayor’s office—which advocated for the project—was essential.

“The progress and redevelopment of the historic Knox Building is tremendous,” Sarno said. “In total, First Resources has added nearly 300 housing units just between these two properties. This supports my administration’s goal of continuing to invest and develop and redevelop more housing ... for our residents.”