AMHERST — A mixed-use redevelopment at the corner of Amity Street and University Drive, already approved as a five-story building, could add a sixth floor as a result of a new zoning overlay district.
The Planning Board on Wednesday will consider a request from UDrive Amity, LLC, to amend the site plans for Campus View, approved in March, to increase to 70 feet the building height. Doing this would allow the development to have 102 units, 24 more than in previous plans, and to add 66 beds, bringing the bed count to 290.
The added height is allowed by the University Drive Overlay District, which the Town Council enacted in April as a way to encourage denser residential projects on the road that connects Amity Street to Route 9 and is within walking distance of the University of Massachusetts campus.
The development, which would include 160 parking spaces for tenants and the 12,200 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor, would replace two commercial buildings on the 5.3-acre site. One is the former Rafters Sports Bar and Restaurant at 422 Amity St., a building constructed in 1968 that has been vacant since the closure of Pleasantrees marijuana dispensary in 2023. The other is the 25 University Drive building, built in 2004, primarily occupied by the offices of Encharter Insurance.
Of the 102 units, 12% of would be set aside for low- and moderate-income families or individuals.
Senior Planner Nate Malloy said the landscaping, parking, signs and architecture remain the same as the previous project, and the footprint is also unchanged.
In response to questions from Malloy, Amherst attorney Tom Reidy, who represents developer Barry Roberts, wrote in an email that even though not all tenants would be able to have cars, there are sufficient other options for getting around, including Swift Way, the multi-use path located across University Drive that people can walk and bike on to connect to both UMass and the Norwottuck Rail Trail. There are also two existing PVTA bus stops close by and a bus pull off is shown on the southerly side of the plan along University Drive.
A grocery store, pharmacy, restaurants and medical facilities are all located along that stretch of road, as well.
Reidy said that the building will continue to comply with design standards by stepping back the top floor by 4 feet from the main facade line.
The project had been expected to get underway this summer, with demolition of the former Rafters, and would be complete in time for the 2026-2027 academic year.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
