Beacon Withdraws Plans for 140-Unit Housing Complex in North Amherst
Architect's rendition of Beacon's proposed apartment building at Mitchell Farm in North Amherst. Photo: Maura Keene
Beacon Communities Vice President for Development Darcy Jameson informed Town Manager Paul Bockelman and Director of Planning and Economic Development Jeff Bagg on May 12 that the company was withdrawing its plans to build 140 units of affordable housing for seniors and families at 246 Montague Road.
A group of residents unhappy about the density of the four-story project and its threat to extensive wetlands on the property filed suit in Massachusetts Land Court, alleging that Amherst’s Zoning Bylaw does not allow the project in that location. The site is zoned Outlying Residential and Professional Research Park, and is not connected to the town’s sewer system.
Jameson wrote in her email, “After careful consideration, we have decided not to move forward. The project faces significant neighborhood opposition, and we are not interested in a project that could involve protracted anti-development litigation.”
Hilda Greenbaum, one of the residents involved in the lawsuit, stated, “Beacon proposed an unattractive hodgepodge of buildings crammed together in the wrong place. If not for MGL Chapter 40B [the state’s provision for flexible zoning in affordable housing projects], such density is not allowed in the Outlying Residence Zone and probably would not have complied with most of Section 10.38, the findings required for a Special Permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals. We neighbors are very happy with the Cherry Hill co-housing and welcome the 30 families coming to Amherst Community Homes across the street from 246 Montague Road. We were willing to negotiate with Beacon, but it was ‘all or nothing.’ We are definitely not anti-development, as Darcy Jameson described our neighborhood.”
Attorney for the plaintiffs Michael Pill wrote that he had not been notified of the plans to end the project as of May 13. He wrote that until he hears directly from Beacon or its legal counsel, he is obligated to leave the lawsuit pending, adding, “In my 45+ years as a Massachusetts lawyer, this is the first time I have seen or even heard of a civil litigation defendant notifying a co-defendant, but not the plaintiffs.”
As a tenant in Easthampton with Beacon as the landlord, I think this is good news for North Amherst. Beacon has terrific marketing. But the reality on the ground doesn’t come close to what they profess. Not that other big corporate developers are any better. Still, I think you dodged a bullet, at least for now.
I happened to make a “tenant statement” tonight at the Easthampton Local Rent Stabilization Listening Session, where I spoke about how adversarial Beacon is in their management style. I cut the following text from my final draft but I’ll share it here:
This is the Beacon Mission Statement: ‘Create and nurture healthy, vibrant and sustainable communities that positively impact the lives of our residents and make enduring contributions to the vitality of our cities and towns. We call this Living Well by Design.”
What it actually feels like to many of us, a lot of the time, is something more like this:
“With an adversarial attitude and intimidating letters to keep tenants from exerting their rights and getting what they need, we aim to do the bare minimum in order to maximize profits so OWNERS of the company actually get to “Live Well by Design.”
(https://www.beaconcommunitiesllc.com/about-us/mission/)
Disappointing but not surprising.
Public projects must adhere to guidelines – normally – so this screamed of a backroom deal. Hilda G and Bruce P, are to be commended. Meanwhile, I can’t wait to welcome families as they move in to Ball Lane/Pulpit Hill housing this Fall.
Thank you Jessica Zane for sharing your experiences in Easthampton. Those entrusted with managing and enforcing policies in towns need to place the needs of residents and the health of ecosystems above the profit seeking goals of investors and revenue sources. Funds are frequently sought by various interest groups within towns for special projects that aren’t necessities like roads, bridges, fire/police/water/sewer/communication/…infrastructure and their maintenance. Using development for tax revenue is not a free lunch. There is negative feedback from growth which is often not considered, with those showing up years after the planning process.
Devastating. I’m right next to this and I’m devastated its not going up. Young people will go from spending 60% of their income on rent to 65% of their income on rent. More students will be sleeping in cars in the parking lot of Walmart or will be renting more houses in groups of 10-20, all so that myself and my neighbors can save about 60 seconds on our commute.
These big developers are not good guys, none of them are. They arent doing this out of kindness or any real care, they are just rent seeking and all landlord-tenant relationships are always predatory by nature but the need for housing is at desperation levels for countless people who do nothing but work and play by the rules. More housing of all kinds helps that. Horribly disappointing. I hope they try again in South Amherst or East Amherst.