AMHERST — Even though housing developments are likely to enhance Amherst’s tax base more often than commercial projects in the coming years, town officials need to have regular conversations with private developers about what is possible, according to the town’s first Planning and Economic Development director.
As Jeff Bagg, of Easthampton, settles into the newly created position that merges two vacant positions, he told residents and business leaders at a Cuppa Joe with Town Manager Paul Bockelman last Friday that he won’t shy away from speaking with those interested in bringing developments to town.
“Developers are part of the team to make things happen,” Bagg said. “We shouldn’t be afraid to talk to developers. We do rely on outside developers and their investors.”
But at the gathering at Masuda’s Cafe on Kellogg Avenue, Bagg cautioned that he only started in the position on Dec. 1 and is still getting up to speed on various planning documents and how they mesh and merge with recommendations from the Town Council and directions from Bockelman.
Bagg, who previously worked as an Amherst planner from 2008 to 2016, said that he will also need to compare the preferred vision to the reality, or as he puts it, “what do people want to see, versus what is realistic.”
Much of the town’s new growth has been housing included in mixed-use projects in town center, but these have come under some criticism that the apartments are mainly geared toward college students. This, critics say, means year-round economic activity is limited, and may also mean a reduced number of families and a smaller school population.
“I think you need to talk about housing, but it’s not the only thing you can talk about,” Bagg said.
Still, if there are not enough places for nonstudents to live, even if businesses would like to come to Amherst, they might balk at that.
“If you can’t house your employees, then you’re not going to draw those businesses here,” Bagg said.
Bagg returns to Amherst after doing regional planning in the Worcester area, being the city planner and planning director in Easthampton and working for a private consulting company, also in Worcester. He takes the roles of two people, Christine Brestrup, who retired last year after almost 10 years as director of the Planning Department, and Geoff Kravitz, who departed as economic development director in early 2020 after four years in the role.
The Planning Department also includes Nate Malloy, whose title has been changed from senior planner to assistant director of planning.
Bagg said he hopes the new position will allow him to look at a bigger picture, building connections, whether it be with the Amherst Business Improvement District and Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce or the University of Massachusetts and Amherst and Hampshire colleges.
“That will be a key to having this position be successful,” Bagg said. “The more time I’m not in the office, the better. In my role, I want to be out and about promoting Amherst.”
But he said business people will be far more knowledgeable about whether their business can survive and would have sufficient patronage.
“I don’t want to duplicate, I want to bolster, if that makes sense,” Bagg said.
He said much of the data he is looking at dates to 2018, even though patterns of what makes a successful business have changed since the pandemic.
One of the challenges for Amherst is the limited land available in town. “Amherst doesn’t have a lot of land left,” Bagg said.
Infill development is often pursued, which he said can lead to projects like the Mill District in North Amherst, where there may be enough critical mass to be successful on its own.
Professional research park zoning was created for when office parks were a growing trend, and the town may have to consider whether tweaking these to light industrial, which allows for more uses, should be done, he said.
Bagg offered caution around projects like The Eruptor, a proposed advanced manufacturing and research and development facility that was abandoned in late 2021 due to insufficient acreage that could be developed.
Officials have to look at sites that everyone can agree on, so that the town is ready to accommodate developments should proposals come forward.
Bagg said while Amherst has opportunities with visitors, aside from the Inn on Boltwood and bed and breakfasts, the lack of a hotel is a missed opportunity.
Among those who attended the Cuppa Joe was Curt Shumway, president of Hampshire Hospitality Group, who suggested that once Amherst can figure out what it wants, planners should sit down with people doing developments.
“There’s a lot that can happen here, if we can be a little more clear,” Shuway said.
For most developers, Shumway said, if they can’t build up to at least four stories in the main commercial district, nothing is going to happen, and students are what allows projects to move forward. He also sees density as a key.
Shumway said he would prefer to get more nonstudents to live in downtown, but the lower prices for rents only exist in outlying areas.
“As you leave Amherst, farther away, the rents drop down,” Shuwmay said.
With construction prices high, it’s unclear if developers can get rents lowered and still make projects profitable.
Asked whether he could draw lessons from Easthampton or other cities and towns in the region, Bagg said that is unlikely, reflecting on the difficulty of translating from one community to another.
While in his hometown he had been encouraged by the mayor and city council to proceed with projects quickly. This happened, even with the cost of renovating the many old mill buildings in the city, but Amherst tends to have a slower pace.
“In Amherst, there is a lot of process,” Bagg said.