SOUTHAMPTON — Designs for the potential redevelopment of 0 College Highway have been released, aiming to provide a vision and an avenue for the town to develop the 52-acre parcel. The land has been eyed as a space that can address many community needs.
While construction is not planned and may take years to reach fruition, the designs — compiled in a report called “A Vision for the Future” — have encouraged town officials who see them as a stepping stone for development.
“We’re starting with a blank canvas and it’s a vision,” said Town Administrator Scott Szczebak. “Nothing is set in stone at this point. But we need an idea of how we’re going to use this land.”
The designs include two different layouts of the property, created by Florence landscape architectural firm, Dodson & Flinker, which partnered with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission for the designs.
Peter Flinker, president of the firm, said the designs offer a walkable “village-style” that combine interests from town officials and residents such as a public safety complex, senior center, mixed-use commercial and housing space that could add to the tax base and could include affordable units and more.
“Part of the village concept is to have things that are closer together than they usually are so it makes it more walkable, more cost-efficient to build and more cost-efficient to maintain because you’re not plowing as much road,” Flinker said.
The designs attempt to incorporate the likes and dislikes that were expressed by the public, Flinker says. Some preferences include a “traditional” architecture design, walkability, open space and restaurant and commercial space. Dislikes included monotonous building designs, large ‘hotel-like’ structures and buildings with an urban look.
“We look at soils, slopes, road access and drainage and all of these others what we call ‘site factors,’ and then we arrive on what parts of the site are best for development,” Flinker said. “All of those processes are informed by a public engagement process we went through.”
The report includes a more technical analysis of the aspects Flinker mentioned including wetland boundaries, wastewater and stormwater capabilities and housing design to maintain “Southampton’s Built Heritage.”
Szczebak said the town held a public land-use survey, a public visioning session and other measures to engage the public and will continue to do so in the future. With substantial designs to show, Szczebak said grant opportunities are much more likely now.
During the public workshop, the design report says people expressed the property provides both an opportunity for creating a “celebrated center” in town and concern that the developments will impact the “small-town feel.”
Select Board Member Stephen Thor Johnson said he was involved when the town first began weighing buying the property.
Voters approved the acquisition of the property at the 2024 annual Town Meeting, after it was identified as an ideal spot not only for several needs. Voters then approved a $2.2 million debt exclusion override to pay for the parcel, which was cut almost in half soon after by an unexpected $1 million donation from a Southampton family.
With a third of the Southampton population over the age of 60, a need to expand the tax base and police and fire stations that need upgrades, Johnson said the property offers space for many needs.
“The idea is that we’ve got a big piece of property, we’ve evaluated what it’s capable of doing, we’ve pulled from the community what they’re interested in and now we have a template,” he said.
Johnson said it is undetermined when and what parts of the project will be built first, and it is likely buildings will be built in stages. He hopes more people will get engaged and stay tuned to follow the project, since this is an ongoing process.