Monarch Place

Monarch Place is a commercial office tower with ground-floor retail spaces, located in Springfield, Massachusetts. Monarch Place is the tallest building in Springfield, the tallest building in Massachusetts outside of Boston, and the eighth tallest building in New England outside of Boston.[1][2] Originally built by the namesake Monarch Capital Corporation, at the time of its completion in 1989 it was the largest mixed-use development in Massachusetts outside of Boston.[3]

Monarch Place
The main tower of Monarch Place, as seen from Steiger Park
General information
TypeCommercial office
Architectural stylePostmodern
Location1 Monarch Place, Springfield, Massachusetts 01144, United States
Construction started1987
Completed1989
Cost$120 million
(1989 USD)
OwnerPaul Picknelly
Height
Roof401 ft (122.2 m)
Technical details
Floor count26
Floor area400,000 sq ft (37,000 m2)
Design and construction
ArchitectJung Brannen Associates
DeveloperMonarch Capital Group and Assoc.
Structural engineerWeidlinger Associates
Main contractorDaniel O'Connell Sons, of Holyoke
Website
www.monarch-place.com

History

Monarch Place was built on the site of the Forbes and Wallace Inc. Department Store, commencing construction in 1987.[1] In a tribute to preserve the heritage of Forbes and Wallace, whose flagship store had stood at that site for decades, the architects Jung Brannen and Associates developed a replica of that building's facade, used in tandem with a fountain at a plaza at the corners of Main and Boland.[4] The building was originally constructed as a joint venture between the Monarch Capital Corporation's "Forge Springfield" subsidiary, Flatley Springfield of Braintree, and Sheraton Hotels at a cost of $120 million dollars.[5] After Monarch Capital's bankruptcy in 1991, the building was sold at auction for $24 million dollars to Peter L. Picknelly, of Peter Pan Buslines, whose company has managed it since.[6]

Since 1989, working with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, the building's rooftop has on-and-off served as the site of a nesting pair of peregrine falcons, making it one of three reintroduction sites on buildings in Western Massachusetts, including the UMass Campus Center site which subsequently was moved to the W.E.B. DuBois Library in Amherst.[7][8][9]

Tenants

As of September 2019, tenants include the following–[10]

  • The Monarch Place tower and ground structure seen from Main Street
  • Forbes & Wallace plaza, modeled after the department store which once stood on the site
  • With illuminated frustum crown at night
  • Main entryway and logo
  • Lobby and marble staircase

See also

References
  1. G. Michael Dobbs (2008). Springfield. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 59–60. ISBN 978-0-7385-5677-2.
  2. Berry, Conor. "MGM's casino plan, minus 'skyscraper' component, means Springfield from I-91 will look like ... Springfield". MassLive. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  3. "Monarch Place". Emporis GMBH. 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  4. Malley, Carol (June 16, 1987). "Converting Monarch plaza into inviting 'people place'; Opening of $118 Million project less than a month away; F & W old landmark facade reappearing with waterfall". Springfield Union-News. Springfield, Mass. p. 25.
  5. Robbins, Carolyn (May 28, 1986). "$10 million Monarch Place grant wrapped up". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. p. 21.
  6. "Retirree Buys Office Tower at Bargain Price". The Journal Record. Oklahoma City. June 24, 1993 – via Questia.
  7. Contrada, Fred (July 23, 1988). "Young UMass falcons take wing but mallards don't need to duck". Springfield Union-News. Springfield, Mass. p. 4.
  8. Malley, Carol (January 14, 1988). "Monarch 'receptive' to nesting plan". Springfield Union-News. Springfield, Mass. p. 2.
  9. "Falcons". Monarch Enterprises, LLC. Archived from the original on January 27, 2019.
  10. http://www.monarch-place.com/tenants.htm

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