Banco Popular North America agrees to make repairs to apartment block at 65 Belmont Ave., Springfield

Link to January 21 Springfield Republican article.

Excerpt: An Illinois-based bank has agreed to make repairs and correct code violations at an apartment block on Belmont Avenue, replacing a landlord who is accused of abandoning the building and leaving tenants without heat and hot water the day before Christmas.

Developers bringing new life to Springfield apartment buildings

Link to December 12 Springfield Republican article.

Excerpt: If 76 Mill St. seems like it has a way to go before it is habitable again, one needs to consider how it looked before Bernal and his partner, Salvatore F. Cangialosi, purchased it and four others at auction in September.

Bernal said a fourth-floor apartment had been gutted by fire, there was trash and garbage everywhere, and the rooftop skylight had a crack in it, allowing two years worth of rain and snow to drip through to the interior.

It was in tough shape, Bernal recalled.

The five buildings Bernal and Cangialosi purchased at the auction belonged to Anthony Ping Zuo, of Weston, the absentee landlord who ran afoul of the city failing to pay his taxes and to maintain his property.

Like 76 Mill St., work is ongoing at the other four sites, and Bernal said they should be made habitable with the next month or so.