AMHERST — A nearly 1-acre Main Street site where the VFW building was located for decades is being declared surplus property by the town, allowing for the eventual development of a building containing affordable apartments, a homeless shelter and related support services.
The recent action by the Town Council, which unanimously agreed to make the declaration on the property it acquired for $750,000 in January 2023, allows Town Manager Paul Bockelman to create a request for proposal seeking a private developer.
Assistant Planner Greg Richane, who handles housing-related matters for the town, explained that the surplus declaration is required for either a long-term lease or sale.
“In order for the town manager to sign such a contract, the surplus declaration would need to be there, in fact before we can go through the disposition process,” Richane said.
Assistant Director of Planning and Development Nate Malloy said property taxes would still be paid on any development, pointing to how the town collects taxes on the Olympia Oaks development, located on a long-term lease on town-owned land on Olympia Place.
A memo from Bockelman states that making the site valuable for future use via a long-term ground lease, for nominal cost as low as $1, is appropriate.
“I have determined that these actions are in the best interest of the town and in alignment with the Town Council’s policy goals,” he wrote.
When purchased, the order stated the site would be used “for sheltering, affordable housing, supportive transitional housing and/ or supportive services purposes.” The former VFW headquarters for the Earl J. Sanders Post 754, built in the early 1960s, was demolished in August 2024 and in recent months has been used as a staging area for equipment related to town projects, such as the expansion and renovation of the Jones Library.
District 3 Councilor George Ryan agreed that the potential development jibes with council goals.
“The hope is that we can, as a community, bring this about,” Ryan said. “It’s going to take a number of more years, but this is an important step.”
Ryan said it is critical the town have a place for a permanent shelter to address housing insecurity, even if there are questions around how it is funded. Craig’s Doors, which has operated the shelter, has used different locations over the years, currently located at Immanuel Lutheran Church on North Pleasant Street after previously being at the First Baptist Church, and the Unitarian Universalist Society.
Joy Squared Architects of Boston, then known as The Narrow Gate Architecture, presented schematics of what a development might look like, with enough space for a 25,000-square-foot building housing the shelter and 30 single-room occupancy units, as well as 20 parking spaces.
Bockelman said Tuesday that with the surplus property declaration complete, he can have an advertisement drawn up in 2026. How soon anything might happen there is unknown, though, and would depend on funding, much like Way Finders is awaiting funding for the redevelopment of the East Street school and properties on Belchertown Road into 78 housing units.
Rezoning approved
Also on Main Street, a short distance to the west and across from the Emily Dickinson Museum, the Town Council agreed to extend the neighborhood business zoning district to include three additional properties which had been in the general residence zone.
One of those properties is the Amherst Inn at 257 Main St.
Building Commissioner Rob Morra told councilors a bed and breakfast there has been an accessory use through a special permit issued in 1997, limiting the property to four to six guests and requiring owner occupancy. Those restrictions are in place even though the building has eight guest bedrooms and space for a ninth guest room.
“One of the major motivators for this change, because it would actually provide an opportunity to change of use from accessory use to a primary use and take advantage of all eight guest rooms, and also see improvements to the building system, for fire safety, with fire alarms and automatic sprinkler systems,” Morra said.
The other affected properties are an occupied duplex at 229 Main St. that has the potential for more expansion and a bigger footprint, and 285 Main St., an existing six-unit, multi-family property, renovated after being damaged in a fire several years ago.
Any exterior changes to the buildings would require review by the Local Historic District Commission.