Commission approves Old First Church restoration

Historical Commission · Meeting of April 16, 2026

Springfield's Historical Commission approved exterior restoration of Old First Church and settled three unauthorized-window cases at its April 16 meeting. Chair Alfonso Nardi presided as petitioner Jonathan Ferrigan and engineer Mark Loringer of Gale Associates outlined masonry and roof repairs for the 1841 church, funded through a trust and ARPA money, approved unanimously. Commissioners voted 7-0 to grant a certificate of non-applicability tied to vinyl windows installed after a 2023 fire, and unanimously allowed altered windows to remain at 238 Sumner Avenue on condition siding patches be redone.

Resident Phil Conniz said the contractor there "should know the rules." The board also continued, for a second time, a contested 69-foot-wide new home proposed on Long Hill Street, where neighbor Denise Mosier said "no one has ever tried to split the whole lot before."

In the full story:

• The Full Story
• [00:03:14] — Jonathan Ferrigan, project petitioner
• [00:54:37] — Phil Conniz, public comment
• [01:22:29] — Denise Mosier, public comment
• Why It Matters
• Key Motions & Votes
• Source
• Springfield's community access TV: Historical Commission meeting, April 16, 2026
• The complete report: 889 words

Source: the Historical Commission meeting of April 16, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.