Affordable Housing and Senior Apartments Proposed for North Amherst
Aerial view of the Mitchell Family Farm, 246 Montague Road. Photo: amherstma.gov
Town Councilors and officials were informed by Town Manager Paul Bockelman last week that Beacon Communities, the company that developed the mixed-use buildings at North Square at the Mill District is exploring development of the Mitchell Family Farm in North Amherst at 246 Montague Road for two buildings, one with 85 to 90 affordable senior apartments and the second with 110-120 affordable one- to three-bedroom units, The property is just north of Cowls Road between Sunderland and Montague Road. It was the site that had previously been proposed for the Eruptor business incubator project.
The land currently has an Agricultural Protection Restriction (APR). APR is,“a voluntary program that enables farmers to access the financial value of their land without needing to sell it. Through federal, state, and local funds, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources can pay farmland owners the difference between the “fair market value” and the “agricultural value” of their farms in exchange for a permanent deed restriction to retain the land for farming. This helps to preserve the land for future generations, and to maintain affordable and accessible farmland for aspiring and experienced farmers.”[ https://www.mass.gov/orgs/agricultural-preservation-restriction-apr-program]
The letter Bockelman sent to the councilors informing them of the proposal follows.
From: Bockelman, Paul <bockelmanp@amherstma.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, September 3, 2025 4:01 PM
To: Town Council Members <towncouncil@amherstma.gov>
Cc: Morra, Robert <morrar@amherstma.gov>
Subject: Proposed Affordable Housing Development – Sunderland and Monague Roads
Beacon Communities, the company that developed the affordable housing and mixed-use buildings called North Square at the Mill District, is exploring the development a significant parcel of land in North Amherst at 246 Montague Road known as the Mitchell property. The property is just north of Cowls Road and spans the land from Sunderland Road to Montague Road. This is the property that had been proposed for The Eruptor Project.
Beacon Communities is currently undertaking due diligence on the site and will decide in the next month or so whether to proceed with permitting and financing.
The proposed project includes the demolition of the existing house and barn and construction of two affordable housing buildings – one near Sunderland Road that would include an estimated 85-90 affordable senior apartments and one near Montague Road that would include an estimated 110-120 1-3-bedroom apartments. Most of the site will be preserved and “re-wilded” to its natural state. The goal is to seek connectivity between the site and the North Square shopping area.
Beacon Communities would seek a comprehensive permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals (a so-called friendly 40-B).
Many Town departments and boards will be involved in the review and approval of this project including Planning, ZBA, Conservation, Public Works, Finance, Public Safety, and the Town Council. Beacon will need to address stormwater, wetlands, floodplain, water, sewer, traffic, and numerous conservation issues. It will also involve State agencies like the State Highway Department and likely trigger a MEPA review. They are working on the permitting path now.
Beacon Communities will seek Town funds to support the request for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit financing from the State. This would include funds from the Affordable Housing Trust, Community Preservation Act, and a real estate tax agreement similar to that provided to Beacon Communities for North Square.
Beacon has received permission from the owners of the property to conduct due diligence, so there have been people on the site investigating wetlands, topography, etc.
I wanted to give you a heads-up about this project, and Beacon is aware I am sending this. There are many more details to work out with many departments. One of the earliest steps will be a request to the Town Council for support to remove the land from Chapter 61A (agricultural use), support the application for a Comprehensive Permit, and provide significant financial support for the project.
The Town Council, of course, will require a significant amount of information to fully consider this project. Expect this to happen in the coming months.
We will share more information and timing as this project progresses.
Please reach out to me if you have any immediate questions.
Paul
Paul Bockelman
Town Manager
Town of Amherst
4 Boltwood Avenue
Amherst, Massachusetts 01002
413-259-3002
TownManager@boltonh
www.amherstma.gov
There is no record of an APR for this property recorded in the Hampshire County Registry of Deeds, nor is it noted on the towns zoning maps/on the Massachusetts GIS system. There is another Mitchell farm on North East Street that does have an APR. I’m not sure if there’s any relationship, but they are different properties.
Adding to the above: I missed an APR for the Mitchell Family (same owner as the parcel in question between Montague and Sunderland Road) that is on the West side of 116 that is in both Amherst and Hadley (on the opposite side of 116 to this proposed development).
Mr. Judicki is correct as I can only confirm that the parcel on the west side of Sunderland road is restricted. Do note that parcel on the west side is not part of the proposal. Last Friday workmen were digging in the area south of the Patterson goose ponds on the east side for the elderly housing.
It is a very problematic site, as Mr. Bockelman implied.
Note that the neighbors are the one entity NOT being consulted!
But we North Amherst residents are used to being dumped on since the first town manager made sure that pristine South Amherst is preserved by not allowing sewers there. The zoning bylaws only permitted apartments on sewer lines!
I believe the depicted map is of the Mitchell APR parcel west of Route 116.
Perhaps it would help orient readers of The Indy if a map of the parcel proposed for development on Montague Road (Route 47) were depicted instead?
There is a new map with the correct parcel marked in the letter by Robin Jaffin.
https://www.amherstindy.org/2025/09/12/opinion-mitchell-farm-the-wrong-site-for-the-right-goal/
An estimated additional 800 vehicles will “permanently reside” within a 3 mile radius in the North Amherst Village if/when the Montague Rd development, the Ball Lane development and the high rise additions at Puffton Village are built.
This will be overwhelming for the already stressed North Amherst intersection. There are 5 points of entry at this intersection that is heavily congested for at least 4 hours a day during the academic months. Traffic is stopped and backed up for sometimes a half mile at specific entries depending on the time of day. There are specific entry areas where firetrucks are extremely challenged to get through during traffic jams. To accommodate the emergency vehicles cars need to go over curbs onto sidewalks and yards to let first responders through. A traffic plan should be a requirement before building approval. Local and state officials would not approve a rotary a few years. A moat configuration around the North Amherst Library is not a good plan either.
Another impact of adding 800 new “car residents” in the North Amherst Village is the building of non porous asphalt parking lots. What will be the stormwater runoff impact on wetlands and the waste water treatment plant of this?
I note again that a building moratorium sailed through Town Meeting in 1986 while the town tried to cope with all the fast growth issues. A building permit rationing system ensued in the interim,
Great point about adding even more traffic to that North Amherst intersection. It is already overloaded.