A proposal to bring 140 units to a corner of Amherst, Massachusetts, is coming along, but town officials want to see more matters addressed before approving a site plan, and residents nearby have their own concerns.
Over the years, what was once acres of orchards in South Amherst has turned into a whole college, museum, grocery store and some housing along the way.
It’s a spot zoned for dense developments, says Kyle Wilson of Archipelago Investments. With the three-building, 140-unit proposal his group has been putting before the planning board – he says it’s a chance to develop a village center and help meet the state’s and town’s need for more housing.
“This is the last five years in Amherst and the number of residential housing units that have received a building permit in 2020, ‘21, ’22, ‘23 and ’24,” Wilson said as he spoke over a slide describing housing permitted in the town in recent years. “The total is 483 units over five years. So, we average under a hundred units a year. If we need 5,000 units, we have a very long time horizon to try to affect the cost curve with cost of housing in Amherst."
Wilson argues the future of housing in Amherst calls for multifamily structures, and that single-family homes are already “built out” in town, rising to median sale prices of $600,000.
He outlined what Archipelago’s calling its “Hampshire” project on its website – three, four-story buildings near Route 116 and W. Bay Road. The structures would more or less be built around the Atkins Farms Country Market, with wetlands on the property splitting one building to the south and two to the north.
The Applewood at Amherst retirement/senior living community is also next door, as is a neighborhood behind it, while across the street are Hampshire College, the Eric Carle Museum and Yiddish Book Center.
Residents like Sherry Wilson say they want to see the space developed, but argue the scope is a size too big.
“Atkins Corner is located in the most rural section of Amherst, and it is not Downtown Amherst,” she said. “It is supposed to be a village center, not a downtown – and four stories is inappropriate. Three stories would be fine - it's just too darn tall and too darn big.”
The proposal, which went before the planning board earlier this year, would feature 187 parking units – 140 for residents and 47 for commercial purposes.
Spread amongst the development would be 45 one-bedroom units, 68 two-bedrooms and 27 three-bedrooms. At least 17 units would be designated for affordable housing.
Combined with the proposed parking, it’s a layout critics like resident Peter Straley say runs counter to Wilson’s emphasis on Amherst needing multi-family housing.
“This project … has numerous non-family housing units, and if it had family housing units, it would recognize that the rest of us, who live here in this community - all of us have at least two cars,” he said. “So, parking for 140 people is woefully inadequate.”
Critics also shared concerns over the conditions of nearby roads. Rambling Road, which the property would abut, is already in rough shape and in need of repairs, some said. There’s also the matter of traffic.
Still, there are project proponents like Jerah Smith, a housing affordability consultant.
“There are so many communities that I work with, where I would beg to see a development like this come in,” Smith said. “ … after seeing the renderings and after seeing the thought put into it this, this is an exceptionally good project … an exceptionally good development. It offers 140 new housing opportunities for people in Amherst that wouldn't be able to live here otherwise, 17 of which are below-market.”
For the most part, the planning board was reserved, eventually establishing the meeting would be continued to give the developer time to answer various technical questions the proposal has raised.
In addition to a site plan approval and a special permit request, the project’s also being reviewed by the town Conservation Commission with regard to wetlands in the area.
Wilson pointed out that if the development were to move ahead, parts of the area would have to be dug out to remove at least 12 inches of soil – cleaning up residual lead arsenic left behind by the apple orchards that once stood there.
Planning board member Karin Winter asked whether the designs or marketing for the buildings could be more inviting to families
Meanwhile, board member Kyle Mager, said while it’s not a given, the rental housing will more than likely attract college students. One of the questions he raised was whether the developer could opt for allotting more commercial space in the mixed-use buildings – something more conducive to what could become a “new potential town center.”
“I do think we need 5,000 more units - I totally agree,” Mager said. “But I think we need to be careful about where we say ‘Great, as much density as possible,’ versus [a] more intentional, mixed-use town center-type of development that we as the planning board envision is appropriate for the location.”
The hearing will continue in early June.
Archipelago Investments is no stranger to the college town – it’s portfolio includes at least seven structures and projects in downtown Amherst and by the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus.
