HADLEY — Hadley’s Zoning Board of Appeals is expected to resolve an ongoing debate over whether the conversion of a Route 9 hotel into extended stay lodging is allowed under town zoning rules.
The virtual meeting on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. centers on the 401 Russell St. property, formerly known as the Howard Johnson hotel, which has been converted into The Residences following a $6.5 million acquisition by Amherst developer Barry Roberts from the Hampshire Hospitality Group.
The Zoning Board of Appeals is being asked to make a finding that this use “is not substantially more detrimental than the existing non-conformity to the neighborhood.” It would base this decision on state law 40A, section 6.1, which references preexisting structures, and section 5.1.7 of the town’s zoning bylaws, which references nonconforming structures.
The property opened in 1966 as the Howard Johnson Motor Lodge and currently has 100 rooms, with an expansion and renovation taking place in the 1990s when the orange roof gate lodge was demolished. The Residences requires people to stay at least 30 days
Members of the Planning Board have suggested that a finding to determine whether allowing guests to be in rooms for a month or several months at a time is allowed under town zoning. Hadley zoning doesn’t define apartments because they are mostly prohibited.
A lawyer for Roberts has suggested that the use of the property is no different than two other recently opened hotels, TownePlace Suites and Homewood Suites. Since the opening of The Residences in 2025, it has hosted visiting professors, young professionals and college students, including Amherst College students who had been delayed from moving into the Hastings Dorm in downtown Amherst when the fall semester began.
Whether the finding will be cut and dried is uncertain. The Select Board in August heard from resident Anthony Fyden, who said this use appears to be a way to get around the town’s general prohibition on apartments.
“The fact is that our bylaws have for decades stated clearly: no apartments,” Fyden said
As part of the deal between former owner J. Curtis Shumway, as Amherst Development Associates, and Roberts, as Lewray LLC, the property can no longer be operated as a hotel. This means the town is losing lodging taxes, though the town never approved the change.
Fyden compared this to Valley Community Development’s conversion of the nearby EconoLodge, also formerly a Hampshire Hospitality Group property, into affordable housing. The state’s Housing Appeals Committee in late 2023 overturned a Zoning Board of Appeals decision to reject the project application, under the state’s Chapter 40 B affordable housing law. That building is to have 51 apartments, though is being used temporarily as a shelter for Craig’s Doors before work begins.
Fyden said these decisions illustrate a lack of respect for the town, its residents and processes.
“We’re being treated like a doormat and our town leadership is allowing it to happen,” Fyden said, adding these are “backdoor changes that are not in line with our zoning or the will of our residents.”