AMHERST — Between 15 and 25 units of new housing could be developed on the 3-acre site of the former South Amherst School at 1001 South East St., based on concepts unveiled by a Boston architecture company.
Three design options that would be feasible for the context of the site, including one that would reuse much of the historic building, were recently presented by Joy Squared Architects. The town continues to investigate what to do with the property, which has been mostly vacant since fall 2018, and how it could fit into a goal of 700 to 900 new housing units by 2030.
In a virtual presentation Wednesday, Sara Briggs, architectural designer at Joy Squared, explained that the neighborhood zoning doesn’t support multifamily housing at the location, yet most developers would need at least 20 units to make a development work financially.
Still, Briggs outlined the process that led to three concepts of housing that could be apartments or condominiums.
“We want to respect the scale of the neighborhood while developing something that is going to be fundable,” Briggs said.
The first would be what is known as the cottage courtyard development, with small single-family homes clustered around a green to create what Briggs calls a microcommunity.
This is the smallest development, with 15 units, on the lower end of what might be feasible, and would include 24 parking spaces.
The second would be a midsize project with multifamily buildings, each with two or three units, and similar in scale to the condominium development on Fearing Street at Sunset Avenue. This would have 20 units and 30 parking spaces, along with a shared courtyard.
The third would be the New England-inn style, similar to the Sanderson Place senior development in Sunderland. By keeping the original schoolhouse alongside a larger building, the project could get 25 units and 40 parking spaces. This would also be similar to how Joy Squared is using the East Street School in a future $37 million, 78-unit mixed-income development by Way Finders.
Under all scenarios, the mid-20th century addition to the late 1800s schoolhouse would be demolished. But keeping the historic building up, whether as community space or apartments, poses a challenge.
“The renovation cost of the school is definitely substantial and it could be definitely worth it for an historic building, but there’s a cost-benefit analysis there,” Briggs said.
Associate Planner Greg Richane said the presentation is the initial step in determining what should happen to the site and follows from an in-person meeting at the nearby Munson Library in June. Richane said there would likely be a disposition process before a developer would be selected, as well as additional community engagement.
Richane said another use for the site, other than housing, could also be identified. “There’s nothing written in stone that this location has to be for homes,” Richane said.
Joy Squared Principal Bob Wegener said his team looked at a lot of options and variety of approaches and wanted more feedback.
“It’s a time to think kind of broadly and learn from one other and hear your thoughts on it,” Wegener said.
Assistant Town Manager Davd Ziomek said other sites also will be examined for housing, including frontage at the former Hickory Ridge on West Pomeroy Lane.
“This is part of the early visioning exercises that we do with the public, with the neighbors, with abutters and with the larger Amherst community,” Ziomek said.