Redevelopment of Salem's Historic Courthouses

Rendering of Courthouses

The Salem Redevelopment Authority (SRA) is honored to be working on this transformative community development opportunity to preserve these two extraordinary historic buildings in downtown Salem, open them up to the public, and put them back into productive use.  The 1841 County Commissioners Building (32 Federal Street) and the 1861-91 Salem Superior Court Building (34 Federal Street) are architectural gems in a prominent location directly across the street from the MBTA’s commuter rail station and at the entrance to Salem’s downtown. The buildings speak to several important community values:

  • They represent Salem’s legacy connected to issues of justice—from the witch trials of 1692 to today’s role as the judicial center for the region;
  • The buildings demonstrate the community’s commitment to historic preservation; and
  • The buildings present an opportunity for creative ideas and innovation to take root and flourish—something Salem is also known for, encourages, and celebrates.

The reuse of the two structures is the SRA’s top redevelopment priority, and we are excited to continue the process of identifying a development partner.

Redevelopment Process Timeline

It is important to understand that the County Commissioners Building and Superior Court Building are available for reuse as a result of decades of work on the part of many individuals and organizations. There has been a long history of local and state collaboration that has brought us to this point. 

Please see the September 2019 presentation to the SRA that reviews the history of this project and the overall project goals as identified through community and stakeholder meetings.  You may view the presentation here: Historic Courthouses and Crescent Lot Development.

  • Late 2019 - The SRA solicited Requests for Qualifications from development teams interested in redeveloping the historic court buildings. Eight teams submitted qualifications.  You may view the RFQ here: Request for Qualifications, April 24, 2019.
  • August 2019 - The SRA selects four teams to submit full redevelopment proposals: Barnat Development, JHR Development LLC, North River Partnership for Community Reinvestment, and WinnDevelopment. 
  • January 2020: The SRA releases the Request for Proposals (RFP) to the selected development teams. You may view the RFP here: Request for Proposals, January 29, 2020.
  • June 30, 2020 - Redevelopment proposals due. Three of the four development teams submitted propsals - Barnat Development chose to withdraw from the process.  The SRA has released all of the documents submitted with respect to these proposals with the exception of certain sensitive financial information. To view a proposal, click on the name of the development team below. 
  • September and October 2020: SRA members evaluate propsals and conduct interviews with each of the teams. 
    • Interview Presentations

      • North River Partnership Presentation, September 15, 2020, click here

      • Winn Development Presentation, September 15, 2020, click here.

      • JHR Development Presentation, September 17, 2020, click here.
    • Additional SRA Questions: Throughout the review process the SRA has requested additional information from the development teams.  The following link will take you to these addtional SRA questions and the team responses: Additional Questions and Responses

    • Scoring the Proposals: SRA members created a scoring matrix comprised of the selection criteria and rating system as described in section 5.1.2 of the Request for Proposals; review the Board's Scoring Matrix here: Final Scoring Matrix

  • November 10, 2020: SRA members select Winn Devleopment as the preferred development team and JHR Development as the back-up development team; read Chair Napolitano's statement here: Selection of Preferred Development Team

    Public Comment

    The SRA welcomes all public comments.  If you would like to submit comments to the SRA, please email them directly to Kate Newhall-Smith, Principal Planner, at knewhallsmith@salem.com.  She will forward your comments to the Board in advance of each meeting.

    If you would like to request a copy of the public comments submitted, send an email to knewhallsmith@salem.com.