Commission Finds Rosary Demolition Harms History

Historical Commission · Meeting of May 21, 2026

Springfield's Historical Commission found that demolishing the former Our Lady of the Rosary Parish would harm the historic district, complicating Home City Development's early plan for 55 units of affordable housing on Franklin Street. Commissioner Walter Kroll pressed the developer for structural and asbestos reports before accepting that the 1919 church, school and rectory are beyond saving, and the board warned any demolition would face an adverse-effect finding. In a separate 5-1 vote, with Kevin Coffee dissenting, the commission cleared a Safe Routes to School redesign of Bowles Park and East Street near Samuel Bowles Elementary School, a response to a 2018 pedestrian fatality, designer Kate Maker of Toole Design told the board.

Commissioners also approved design changes for new homes on Clarendon and Buckingham streets after a neighbor, Jim Bowen, objected that the houses looked too similar.

In the full story:

• The Full Story
• Why It Matters
• Key Motions & Votes
• Source
• Springfield's community access TV: Historical Commission meeting, May 21, 2026
• The complete report: 912 words

Source: the Historical Commission meeting of May 21, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

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