SPRINGFIELD — Lawyer Raipher D. Pellegrino, who represented the Pick-n-Pull project before the City Council, said Friday he’ll buy out the developer who threatened last week to scuttle a $25 million apartment because it’d have a view of the proposed junkyard .
On Wednesday, developer Charles Irving of Davenport Companies said continuing with his The Lofts at Union Station, 162-168 and 170- 172 Lyman St., would be “lost dollars” if the salvage yard goes through at the old Roy’s Towing site on nearby Liberty Street.
“Local citizens, myself included, are prepared to call his bluff, and would offer to purchase the property from Mr. Irving for $500,000 giving him a profit of $100,000, and allowing Springfield to decide what is best for Springfield, ” Pellegrino, a former city councilor who also has real estate investments in the neighborhood, said Friday.
The current council approved Pick-n-Pull pull 5 with a 13-0 vote. Councilors cited the support of the Lower Liberty Heights Citizens Council for the project and the neighborhood group cited the need for the 30 the Pick-n-Pull promises.
Irving and Davenport appealed to Superior Court the Council’s April approval of the Pick-n-Pull on the grounds that Davenport and other abutters were not given notice to speak out against the project and that the Council’s decision was arbitrary and capricious.
Pellegrino said Irving is employing strong-arm tactics.
The Springfield Pick-n-Pull — its a national chain — would be across the railroad tracks from the former cotton warehouse where Davenport Companies wants to build the 46-unit Lofts project.
Davenport bought the Lyman Street warehouse in 2019 for $400,000 so it would have another project to move on to its Overland Lofts was done.
Today, the Overland Lofts, in a former Willys-Overland car showroom and distribution center. Overland is open with 51 of its 60 apartments leased. Irving said he and his team had only expected to have half the $14 million project leased this quickly.