Bay
Stone Soul Festival at Blunt Park
The city finished more than $1 million in renovations at Blunt Park in 2023. That equipped the green space on the north side of Bay with updated tennis courts, a splash pad and a playground accessible to children with disabilities. The 160-acre park’s tree-lined pavilion makes it a desirable picnicking destination, and its gravel walking trail takes visitors from the park’s open field through its surrounding woods. There’s plenty of room for the annual Stone Soul Festival, which started as a picnic in 1989 and has grown to a three-day event over Labor Day weekend. A platform for Black entrepreneurs and musicians, the festival also acts as a homecoming for many Springfield natives who have moved away. At Smead Arena next to Blunt Park, youth hockey teams and members of the public are welcome to skate across the ice. The state government oversees the indoor skating rink, as well as the nearby John H. Thomas Memorial Pool. The outdoor pool is open from June to August.
/
Renovations wrap up at Boys & Girls Club
The Boys & Girls Club Family Center in the neighborhood unveiled $1.5 million worth of updates in 2024 that included new outdoor fields and a refurbished indoor pool. These improvements benefit the center’s youth programs, which include after-school aquatics, summertime soccer schools and a lacrosse league. Besides sports, the Boys & Girls Club Family Center runs after-school tutoring programs and hosts a trunk-or-treat event on Halloween.
/
Homes with Victorian features and smaller footprints
Tight rows of homes stretch north to south between Bay and State streets. Many houses showcase Victorian features similar to those found on homes in the McKnight neighborhood to the west, including bay windows and asymmetrical designs. However, houses in Bay are smaller, averaging about 1,500 square feet. Bungalows and minimal traditional homes are mixed in as well. Most residents rent, often leasing a unit within one of the multifamily houses throughout the neighborhood. Single-family homes usually cost between $200,000 and $350,000. There is also some infill construction, bringing new traditional homes on the market priced in the mid-$400,000s.Bay receives a CAP Index crime score of 6 out of 10, above the national average of 4, but its scores for a couple of violent crime categories are even higher. Springfield had the highest violent crime rate among large New England cities in 2023, according to New England Public Media. The following year, the city launched a police walking patrol initiative. Officers are leaving their cruisers and walking sidewalks in Bay and every other Springfield neighborhood to improve visibility and make police more available to citizens.
/
Central High School performs in Fall Festival of Shakespeare
Students can attend Rebecca Johnson School, a campus for kindergartners through fifth graders just outside Bay. Johnson School and John F. Kennedy Middle School on the northeast side of Springfield both get Niche grades of C-minus. Teens don’t have to leave the neighborhood to take classes at Central High School, which scores a B-minus. Its curriculum and extracurriculars emphasize a balance of STEM and arts education. That means offering Advanced Placement courses in calculus and computer science, as well as sending the theater program to Lenox, Massachusetts, to compete in November's annual Fall Festival of Shakespeare. Students from across Massachusetts and New York perform different Shakespeare plays in front of packed houses over the course of a week.Dorms and athletic facilities for American International College cover part of Bay, while the rest of the campus is on the other side of State Street. About 1,100 students attend the private college, pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing, psychology, public health and more. Locals don’t have to be students to use the archives, printers or research databases at the James J. Shea Memorial Library. Sports fans can watch the college’s football and rugby teams on campus or catch the Division I men’s hockey team at the MassMutual Center downtown.
Dominican dining around the neighborhood
Neighborhood businesses for the most part line State Street and Bay Street. Caribbean cuisine is common; El Fogón de Yuyu is one of multiple restaurants in Bay serving Dominican-style hamburgers and passion fruit juice. America’s Food Basket grocery store is a couple blocks outside the neighborhood, and Springfield Plaza shopping center 2 miles north has retail chains such as Rocky’s Ace Hardware, Dollar Tree and Rainbow Shops apparel store. Bay is also within 2 miles of Metro Center, Springfield’s downtown neighborhood that’s home to cafes, clothing boutiques and late-night spots such as Dewey’s Jazz Lounge.Bus routes through Bay
Residents typically need to drive or take the bus to get to work or do their shopping. Interstate 291 and Bay Street connect to downtown, where the interstate merges into Interstate 91 and continues 2 miles north to Baystate Medical Center or 15 miles south to Bradley International Airport. Pioneer Valley Transit Authority has bus lines running down Bay Street and State Street, which residents can take to downtown. Interstate 291 runs alongside the neighborhood, but an industrial area and a 90-acre cemetery help buffer most homes from traffic noise.
Written By
Alex Soderstrom
Photography Contributed By
Matt Barrett
Video By
Samantha Houtchens
Was this overview helpful?
Agents Specializing in this Area
-
Tanya Harvey
Tanya Harvey
Keller Williams Realty
(860) 962-6212
141 Total Sales
7 in Bay
$185K - $300K Price Range
-
Mela Dieujuste
Mela Dieujuste
IVerty Realty, LLC
(413) 241-7854
69 Total Sales
1 in Bay
$220,000 Price
-
Juan Lopera-Martinez
Juan Lopera-Martinez
eXp Realty
(339) 338-4961
92 Total Sales
1 in Bay
$275,000 Price
-
Cynthia Gonzalez
Cynthia Gonzalez
Executive Real Estate, Inc.
(413) 288-5131
75 Total Sales
2 in Bay
$260K - $365K Price Range
-
Stephanie Salerno
Stephanie Salerno
Responds QuicklyColdwell Banker Realty
(959) 949-1436
222 Total Sales
2 in Bay
$270K - $308K Price Range
-
Ivan Karamian
Ivan Karamian
Responds QuicklyBerkshire Hathaway HomeServices Realty Professionals
(860) 901-2160
156 Total Sales
1 in Bay
$71,000 Price
Schools
Source:
GreatSchools:
The GreatSchools Rating helps parents compare schools within a state based on a variety of school quality indicators and provides a helpful picture of how effectively each school serves all of its students. Ratings are on a scale of 1 (below average) to 10 (above average) and can include test scores, college readiness, academic progress, advanced courses, equity, discipline and attendance data. We also advise parents to visit schools, consider other information on school performance and programs, and consider family needs as part of the school selection process.
View GreatSchools Rating Methodology
- 9th to 12th
- Public
- 6th to 8th
- Public
- K to 5th
- Public
Interested in learning more about homes in this area? Reach out to , an experienced agent in this neighborhood.
Parks in this Area
Gurdon-Bill Park
Blunt Park
Keep Springfield Beautiful
Marshall Roy Park
Walsh Park
Mary Troy Park
Transit
Bay Demographics and Home Trends
On average, homes in Bay, Springfield sell after 112 days on the market compared to the national average of 70 days. The median sale price for homes in Bay, Springfield over the last 12 months is $305,000, up 251% from the median home sale price over the previous 12 months.
Housing Trends
Median List Price
$340,000
Median Sale Price
$305,000
Median Single Family Sale Price
$305,000
Median Townhouse Sale Price
$340,000
Median Change From 1st List Price
5%
Last 12 months Home Sales
2
Median Home Sale Price YoY Change
251%
Average Price Per Sq Ft
$204
Neighborhood Facts
Number of Homes in Neighborhood
522
Number of Homes for Sale
2
Median Year Built
1920
Months of Supply
12.00
Average Single Family Home Size Sq Ft
1,497
Significantly below the national average
1,924
Average Townhouse Size Sq Ft
2,637
Average 2 Bedroom Size Sq Ft
1,300
Median Lot Size Sq Ft
5,662
Distribution of Home Values
Homes for Sale
Homes for Rent
Interested in learning more about homes in this area? Reach out to , an experienced agent in this neighborhood.
Average Home Value
Property Mix - Square Feet
This Neighborhood Has More Renters
Demographics
Total Population
4,182
Median Age
30
Population Density
7 ppl/acre
Population under 18
29.8%
Above the national average
23.8%
Population over 65
11.1%
Below the national average
19.1%
Finances
Median Household Income
$41,322
Significantly below the national average
$71,702
Average Household Income
$48,675
Education and Workforce
High School Graduates
75.4%
College Graduates
11%
Below the national average
34.1%
Advanced Degrees
5.8%
% Population in Labor Force
49.5%
Below the national average
65.1%
Weather
Annual Precipitation
51''
Average Winter Low Temperature
19°F
Average Summer High Temperature
82°F
Annual Snowfall
27''
Area Factors
Somewhat Bikeable
Bike Score®
38
/ 100
Car-Dependent
Walk Score®
35
/ 100
Some Transit
Transit Score®
48
/ 100
Source: Walk Score
Source: Walk Score
Sound Score® measures the noise level of any address. Transit Score® measures access to public transit. Bike Score® measures the bikeability of any address.
Nearby Neighborhoods
McKnight
Large antique homes fill one of New England's biggest Victorian historic districts
East Springfield
Post-war neighborhood near Springfield's industrial hub
Liberty Heights
Character-rich 20th Century homes and unmatched city accessibility
Old Hill
Historic Springfield neighborhood seeing reinvestment in parks, homes, education
Pine Point
Quiet, close-knit community minutes from downtown Springfield
Maple-High Six Corners
Two historic communities form this Springfield neighborhood near downtown
Reviews
Are you familiar with the Bay neighborhood? to let others know what life in this neighborhood is like.
Was this page helpful?
