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Monarch Place
Logo of Monarch Place (Springfield, Massachusetts).svg
Monarch Place as seen from Steiger Park during day, Springfield, Massachusetts.jpg
The main tower of Monarch Place, as seen from Steiger Park
General information
Type Commercial office
Architectural style Postmodern
Location 1 Monarch Place, Springfield, Massachusetts 01144, United States
Construction started 1987
Completed 1989
Cost $120 million
(1989 USD)
Owner Paul Picknelly
Height
Roof 401 ft (122.2 m)
Technical details
Floor count 26
Floor area 400,000 sq ft (37,000 m2)
Design and construction
Architect Jung Brannen Associates
Developer Monarch Capital Group and Assoc.
Structural engineer Weidlinger Associates
Main contractor Daniel O'Connell Sons, of Holyoke

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. 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.

History

Monarch Place was built on the site of the Forbes and Wallace Inc. Department Store, commencing construction in 1987. 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. 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. 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.

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.

Tenants

As of September 2019, tenants include the following–

  • American Hockey League (AHL)
  • Argo Group
  • Community Legal Aid
  • First American Title Insurance
  • Health New England
  • Kanzaki Specialty Papers
  • Merrill Lynch
  • Robert Half International Inc.
  • Sinclair Insurance Group
  • The Travelers Companies
  • UBS

Gallery

  • MonarchPlace

    The Monarch Place tower and ground structure seen from Main Street

  • Forbes and Wallace memorial facade at Monarch Place, Springfield, Massachusetts

    Forbes & Wallace plaza, modeled after the department store which once stood on the site

  • Monarch Place as seen from Steiger Park during night, Springfield, Massachusetts

    With illuminated frustum crown at night

  • Monarch Place main entryway, Springfield, Massachusetts

    Main entryway and logo

  • General lobby of Monarch Place, Springfield, Massachusetts

    Lobby and marble staircase

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