What Kinds of Housing Could be Built at the Old South Amherst School Site?

This was a Zoom forum on November 19. It was recorded.

The town engaged Joy Squared Architecture to develop some concepts for a residential development on the site of the South Amherst School on South East Street on the South Amherst Common. Last June, the group held a visioning session for the public at the Munson Memorial Library, across the street from the school, to gather public input on what the site could be used for. About 50 people attended the June session, and about 40 were at the November 19  Zoom presentation. Housing Coordinator Greg Richane and Assistant Town Manager Dave Ziomek joined Joy Squared architects Sarah Briggs and Bob Wegener on it.

Richane stressed that this was not a formal public hearing and that there will be ample opportunity for more public input if the town continues to move forward on reuse of this site. Although other uses of the property were suggested at the June session, such as a senior center or daycare center, he said that this forum would only deal with ideas for residential use. However, he thought that residential development made the most sense financially, given the town’s other large capital projects.

Briggs reviewed the characteristics of the site, which is in the neighborhood residential (R-N) zone and in the aquifer recharge protection area. It is also part of the South Amherst Common Historic District. Notable structures are the Munson Memorial Library and the South Amherst Church across the Common as well as historic houses and farm structures. She said that classic New England roof lines were a notable feature of the area. 

Joy Squared developed three design concepts for the site: a cottage-style development around a courtyard with 15 three-bedroom units and 24 parking spaces; small multi-family buildings with four one- to three-bedroom units per building totaling 20 units and 30 parking spaces; and a “New England inn” design consisting of either a larger multi-family building with 25 units and 40 parking spaces or senior housing with 33 one-bedroom units. 

Only the “New England inn” option retains the original South Amherst School building, which dates to the late 1800s and could be used as community space or more apartments. Wegener said that there was little support voiced in June for keeping a mid-century modern addition to the school building. He said that keeping the old school building would probably add cost and unpredictability to development, but might be worth it in terms of cultural and historical value. The “New England inn” option contains an elevator bank at the juncture between the new construction and the school building. Richane said that because the R-N zone does not allow large multi-family projects, some form of zoning change, such as an overlay or 40-R, will be needed to develop the site. 

In addition to the public session in June, Joy Squared held meetings with local developers and town planners. The developers stated that a residential project should have at least 20 units and preferably 30 units to be economically viable. 

To arrive at the three types of design, Joy Squared looked at comparable sites, including Riverwalk in Concord (a 12-unit courtyard development); 180 Fearing Street in Amherst (22 small multi-family buildings); Main Street Apartments of the Amherst Housing Authority (11 affordable townhouse-style apartments); a 51-unit rowhouse development in Newport, Rhode Island; Amethyst Brook affordable apartments in Pelham; the planned 31-units at the East Street School in Amherst;, and the 33-unit senior housing at Sanderson Place in Sunderland.

Public Comment: Many Factors Remain
Many in attendance submitted questions, but most decisions have yet to be made. Whether the residences will be rentals or condos will be left to the developer selected by the town. The mix of market-rate and affordable housing is also uncertain.

Design Review Board Chair Erica Zekos said she likes the cottage courtyard model, but noted that the model shown offers no shared indoor space. Richane responded that “public” indoor space exists at the Munson Library and the South Amherst Church (United Church of Christ), and that developers are given subsidies for affordable units but not  common spaces.

Joy Squared did not evaluate the environmental impacts of the three options, but Wegener noted that Amherst’s opt-in to the specialized building code would most likely mean that the new units would be all-electric. Renovating the existing school would probably involve totally redoing the interior to achieve energy efficiency. Renewable energy, such as geothermal or solar panels, is also possible. Briggs thought that concept 2 (small multi-family buildings) would be slightly more environmentally friendly because it had the most open space and the least pavement.

Other questions were about the need for a traffic study (yes) and whether the property would generate tax revenue (yes). Also, it was noted that the site is a significant distance from public transportation.

Richane said that in addition to the Wayfinders development at the East Street School/Belchertown Road, the town is looking at Hickory Ridge for more housing and at the former VFW site on Main Street for supportive housing. He said the next step is for town staff to weigh the three options and to decide whether they want to move forward on this site.

Ziomek said he was pleased with the session, but stressed that nothing has been decided and that there will be many more meetings before anything is finalized. A copy of Joy Squared’s report will be posted on the Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust web page.