NORTHAMPTON — What was once a property that housed a state mental hospital until the 1990s continues to be redeveloped into a neighborhood of mixed-income housing and commercial spaces.
To help further develop the area now known as Village Hill, the city has been awarded a $950,000 MassWorks Infrastructure Program grant, an award that was officially announced on Tuesday afternoon at City Hall.
Other Valley cities and towns received similar funding. On Tuesday, MassWorks awarded Hatfield a $2 million grant to extend water and sewer lines along Route 5, and Easthampton received $394,000 for traffic improvements on Route 10, and to enhance pedestrian access to the $17 million River Valley Co-op development being built on the site of a former car dealership.
Last week, MassWorks awarded a 90-unit affordable housing project planned for South Holyoke $6.56 million for infrastructure and streetscape improvements.
In Northampton, infrastructure work will support North Commons, a mixed-income housing development at Village Hill. Developed by The Community Builders, it will house 53 units of rental units, 39 of which will be affordable, according to the MassWorks grant application.
It is planned to be built on the last lot of Village Hill. Funding will go toward sidewalks, trails, and roadways, said Mayor David Narkewicz. It will also be put toward improving access to the fountain first installed in 1876 and near the entrance to the original hospital building.
At Northampton’s official grant announcement on Tuesday, Michael Kennealy, Secretary of Housing and Economic Development, underscored the need for affordable housing, “We have a housing crisis in Massachusetts,” he said.
The issue affects the entire state, said Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton. She said she’s often asked what surprises her as a legislator, and she said that one fact is the number of people who are housing insecure.
In Hatfield, MassWorks funding will allow water and sewer service to expand along Route 5 where the water mains and wastewater disposal systems “are insufficient for commercial development,” according to the state Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.
“Water and sewer issues are some of the biggest challenges faced by municipalities in my district,” said state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, in a statement. “Extending sewer service along Route 5 will allow Hatfield to create jobs and, eventually, bolster its economy.”
Brian F. Moriarty, chairman of the Hatfield Select Board, echoed Comerford, stating that “These improvements will spur existing business expansion and allow for new business growth. This will, in turn, create jobs and expand the town’s tax base.”
Easthampton’s grant will fund roadway improvements at Lyman Street and Route 10 to increase traffic safety and connect pedestrians to existing commercial properties, as well as the proposed River Valley Co-op supermarket, the Easthampton Health Center and a recently opened Cumberland Farms.
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com.