AMHERST — A North Amherst building that in recent years has served as a marijuana dispensary, and before that was home to auction galleries, could become the new headquarters for a local design and build company.
Integrity Design and Construction recently got a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals that would allow it to buy the 169 Meadow St. site and then relocate the business from its current headquarters at 110 Pulpit Hill Road.
The special permit includes a change in use classification from store/ shop to contractor’s yard.
There will be only minimal changes to the site, including a new sign, a permeable patio with a cedar stockade fence and an egress door to access that, along with windows to let in natural light.
Heidi Flanders, who co-owns the company with Anna Cook, told the Zoning Board of Appeals that approval will allow them to proceed with purchase of the property and conversion to its professional offices.
“We’ve outgrown the space we’re in and looking to have a little more growth area for ourselves,” Flanders said.
The staff on site does project management and design, and there will be space to store materials and tools for the off site work done at homes and businesses. Integrity would use about 5,300 square feet of the 6,500 square-foot building, with the remaining 1,200 square feet to be rented out.
The parking lot has 33 spaces.
Integrity has been located in Amherst since 1995, when then company president Peter Jessop relocated to North Amherst upon completion of what is currently known as the Cherry Hill Cohousing community. Its offices are in a building adjacent to those homes.
Rise was the most recent occupant of the 169 Meadow St. site, located near farms on the Amherst-Hadley town line, initially opening in 2018 as a medical cannabis dispensary and a year later adding adult-use marijuana sales, the first in Amherst to offer the product . Rise eventually returned to medical-only sales before closing at the end of 2024.
Before that, the cement block building was home to two auction galleries, first Pioneer Auction starting in the mid 1980s, and then Kimballs Auction & Estate Services in the early 2000s.
Hilda Greenbaum, a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals and North Amherst resident, reflected on the days of attending auctions there.
“I think it’s wonderful to see this property really in use again,” Greenbaum said.
Board members did have questions about granting waivers for the sign, but otherwise seemed satisfied with the plans.
“This is a great new use for the building,” said member David Ahlfeld.
As part of the anticipated relocation, a mural that has adorned the side of what had been a plain cement block building since late 2020, completed by Seattle artist Zaeos, will likely be removed. That mural features black-capped chickadees, a blue heron, mayflowers and a ladybug, set against a deep blue background.