AMHERST — The imminent sale of nearly 700 acres of land that Hampshire College owns in Amherst is prompting town officials to begin moving quickly to consider zoning changes consistent with municipal planning objectives, and possible acquisition of all or parts of the property.
Two days after members of the Town Council initiated public and private discussions of the role they will play in dealing with the college’s closure in the coming months, Hampshire President Jennifer Chrisler announced Wednesday that the college intends to sell the campus on an expedited timeline, as the college needs to pay back $25 million in loans — held by financial institutions and a private partner — that were secured by the land.
“Over the last two weeks our lenders have made clear they are prioritizing swift repayment,” Chrisler wrote in a campuswide communication. “That reality requires Hampshire to pursue the sale of campus land as the primary means of addressing this debt.”
Chrisler’s letter notes the college has already retained a broker to assist the board of trustees with this transaction.
“The college needs to identify a buyer who can move forward with a high degree of certainty and on an expedited timeline,” she wrote. “This week, the college retained a broker to steward this transaction, and the board is preparing to review any and all offers that enable meeting Hampshire’s fiduciary obligations.”
The bulk of the debt was taken out in 2010 and 2016 and was manageable at that time, Chrisler wrote, but “external market forces combined with Hampshire’s declining enrollment trajectory made refinancing impossible.”
Even before Chrisler’s announcement, Amherst councilors on Monday were briefed by Town Manager Paul Bockelman and Planning and Economic Development Director Jeff Bagg on how the town will be involved, first in a public session and then in a closed-door session.
Bockelman said there is not yet a coherent plan from Town Hall.
“The real thing we’d like to do is a major assessment of the property, a community-driven planning process to decide what we as a town would like that property to be utilized for, and then pass zoning,” Bockelman said. “But we’re also in a defensive posture to protect ourselves.”
Bockelman said that future ownership of the 692 acres in Amherst and development of this land is the main thing to consider, with the town holding two main avenues for oversight: the regulatory power of zoning, and the ability to buy land and control ownership.
Currently, most of the college-owned land is in an educational zone, meaning it can only be used for higher education purposes, not potential tax base development.
Bagg said the community-centered engagement plan needs to be “careful, strategic and fast” and align with the town’s master plan, open space plan and housing production plan, and town planning principles, balancing town needs with opportunities for new growth.
“The biggest unique feature here is we don’t own the property, so we have to move fast to kind of keep pace with how this will unfold,” Bagg said.
Bagg noted that unlike much of Amherst, the Hampshire College campus hasn’t been examined in great detail, including the condition of buildings.
“It’s an area we’ve never really explored. It’s always been sort of the Hampshire campus and not subject to a lot of detailed information that we have for other village centers and other areas of town,” Bagg said.
District 2 Councilor Lynn Griesemer said the college closure provides a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and town officials could look at the site in conjunction with the Wildwood School property on Strong Street, which will close after this school year.
“For us, what it creates is a revenue opportunity,” Griesemer said. “We could solve a lot of problems in Amherst if we do the right thing with the land, and the land becomes a revenue generator.”
At Large Councilor Andy Churchill said there should be fear of a campus remaining tax exempt and being bought by an organization that may not share the community’s values, as happened with Northfield and its purchase by Hobby Lobby several years ago.
Churchill suggested some sort of overlay zone that would take it out of nonprofit use for a while, giving the town the chance to protect the land and to do development right.
“It seems like some kind of zoning approach, or some way to work with the state to identify bridge financing so that we could temporarily purchase it,” Churchill said.
District 5 Councilor Sam MacLeod said the main trauma of the closure is for students, faculty and staff, but the campus does offer a “painful opportunity” to think carefully about.
“I think it’s warranted that we’re deliberate and thorough of all the possibilities,” MacLeod said.
“Hampshire really helps to keep Amherst weird in the best way and I hope that we can hold that up and hold up that innovation as we go through the process we’re going to go through,” said District 5 Councilor Ana Devlin Gauthier.
Specific aspects of the campus are also of concern to the Town Council and the community. One is the Early Learning Center, which will close on June 2, a little over two weeks after the May 17 closing of the dormitories.
District 3 Councilor George Ryan said with 40 families and trained staff, he wondered how the town could preserve it.
Bockelman said he has been in touch with MassDevelopment and legislators, calling it a mini-crisis to lose a wonderful organization and service.
“They would have a hard time relocating without a fiscal steward of some sort, who would be their employer,” Bockelman said.
“Childcare slots are really precious and we really need every one of them, and we’re focused on helping them to survive,” Bockelman said.
District 1 Councilor Cathy Schoen said people want to know if the outdoor tennis and pickleball courts, the Bay Road Tennis Club, will still be accessible.
“I’m getting lots of questions about whether the gates will be locked,” Schoen said.
Bockelman said insurance costs likely would prevent their continued use.
It’s a similar concern for adapting the housing on campus to other uses. District 4 Councilor Pam Rooney noted the leasing opportunities with existing dormitories and the possibility of working with the University of Massachusetts to reduce pressure on rental housing in Amherst neighborhoods in the short term.
District 2 Councilor Amber Cano-Martin said it would be a shame to see dorms empty when there is a need for housing.
Other potential impacts on the town include the loss of $100,000 annually in water and sewer fees, the possible reduction of PVTA bus service to that part of town and the closure of the Red Barn as a venue and the Robert Crown Center’s pool.
Following the meeting, Bockelman said that people see “endless opportunities” in how the town could be involved, but that the town itself is under very real financial strain. If buildings were acquired, there would also be a cost to keep the pipes from freezing.
In public comment to councilors, Emily Landeck, who directs the farm programs, encouraged them to think about the farmland, about 80 acres that are up in the air.
“As someone who’s farmed in the Valley for over 15 years at this point, I see it as very important to preserve that land as farmland,” Landeck said.
And while there is a need for more housing, the farmland has no permanent protection. Staff is putting together the concept of a community farm.
Chrisler’s latest letter addresses other aspects of the campus closure and the possible sale.
“First, the campus and its resources are needed to support enrolled students through the teach-out term. Starting this summer, we’ll develop a plan for the archives, library holdings, and the other wonderful collections and scholarly work currently housed here at Hampshire.”
Much of the sales process, though, will be confidential.
“The Hampshire campus as we know it will not endure in its current form. It will need to become something different for the college to meet its obligations. I want to say that directly, because you deserve to hear it directly, painful though it may be. I know that for so many of us, the physical place is infused with meaning. The farm. The library. The mod you lived in. The studio where you made the thing you are still most proud of. I feel the weight of that.”
“Hampshire’s closing cannot undo the fact that the people who worked, studied, and lived here over the decades transformed a bucolic tract of farm land into an experimenting and transformative education community. Even in this time of great loss, we should all take pride in what was accomplished here.”
