AMHERST — A Boston developer is halting its efforts to bring 140 apartments to a North Amherst parcel, citing in part neighborhood opposition that included the filing of a Land Court lawsuit, a decision Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman called “a travesty for the town.”
Representatives from Beacon Communities, LLC notified Amherst officials Tuesday that they are pausing plans to develop the 246 Montague Road site, a former farm where a house and barn remain and which is owned by the Thomas F. Mitchell Family Trust and Mitchell Family Farm Trust.
Bockelman said the decision is a blow to the town’s efforts to build much needed housing.
“Losing the opportunity to even consider a project that would house 140 families and seniors in the town of Amherst, all in affordably priced units, is a travesty for the town,” Bockelman said. “We have a housing crisis; everyone recognizes that. We need affordable housing for the elders of our community and young families. This project could have met some of that need.”
According to Bockelman, the communication to Town Hall from Darcy L. Jameson, Beacon’s vice president for development, thanked staff for their time and engagement during the exploration of the development opportunity, and mentioned looking forward to future collaboration under different circumstances.
“We appreciated the chance to evaluate a development that could have delivered 140 affordable apartments and supported the town’s commitment to expanding its affordable housing supply,” James wrote. “After careful consideration, we have decided not to move forward. The project faces significant neighborhood opposition, and we are not interested in a project that could involve protracted anti-development litigation.”
In a statement, Dara Kovel, CEO of Beacon Communities said the company hopes to help Amherst meets its housing goals in the future.
“We are grateful for the town’s continued support and commitment to providing more housing for their community,” Kovel said. “While the project at 246 Montague Road has been put on hold, we have left the door open for future opportunities to build more much-needed housing for the residents of Amherst.”
While no plans had been filed with any of the town’s permitting boards, with the development likely to have been reviewed by the Zoning Board of Appeals under the state’s Chapter 40B affordable housing law, concepts had been presented over the winter to the Conservation Commission and Affordable Housing Trust.
Then, in April, Beacon held a community meeting at the Amherst Survival Center to outline the possibilities. At that time, Beacon officials said construction could commence in 2028, anticipating the submission of a Project Eligibility application to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities for funding this spring.
Among those parties to the Land Court lawsuit are Hilda Greenbaum, who lives next to the project site on Route 63.
“Beacon proposed an unattractive hodgepodge of buildings crammed together in the wrong place,” Greenbaum said.
She also disputes that those involved in the litigation are anti-development, pointing to how receptive they have been to other projects.
“We neighbors are very happy with the Cherry Hill co-housing and welcome the 30 families coming to Amherst Community Homes across the street from 246 Montague Road,” Greenbaum said. “We were willing to negotiate with Beacon, but it was all or nothing.”
Bockelman, though, said whether the project was appropriate for the site or would have required too much public investment can’t be determined.
“We will never know because a group of neighbors filed a frivolous lawsuit against the developer and the town that led the developer to abandon the project and prevent the town from even discussing the merits of the proposal,” Bockelman saiod.
Beacon previously developed the apartments North Square at the Mill District, which also has 22,000 square feet of retail space, including the Mill General Store, Carefree Cakery, Provisions, Futura Coffee and Herrell’s Ice Cream. Beacon also owns the mixed-income Rolling Green Apartments at 422 Belchertown Road, and preserved the affordable units there, which had been at risk.
The project site had been explored several years ago by the Eruptor high-tech research center, an 80,000-square-foot building that was to be a place for laser technology, three-dimensional printing and sophisticated manufacturing equipment, as well as incubator space for laboratory work and start-up companies from the University of Massachusetts. That was eventually abandoned, in part due to the extensive wetlands on the site limiting the amount of usable land.
At the community meeting last month, Beacon representatives said the development would be a mix of 55-and-over, affordable and family housing, featuring all-electric, passive house construction.
But there were concerns about more traffic to the main North Amherst intersection, with some suggesting access from Sunderland Road rather than Montague Road.
Filed by attorney Michael Pill of Green Miles Lipton LLP, the lawsuit remains pending. Pill said Beacon has 20 days to respond to the complaint, adding that Beacon has not provided him any notification of its decision.
The lawsuit references the potential costs to the town for the four-story development, such as the need to extend sewer lines and mitigate traffic in the neighborhood, and asks the court to rule on the applicability of the town’s zoning bylaw, and if the Outlying Residence and Professional Research Park zoning districts would allow such development. The lawsuit questions, too, whether the town has sufficient Fire Department staff to add such as large-scale building.
The Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust addressed how the development had been pulled, with Bockelman informing the members about his discouragement and how such sudden litigation could make it more difficult for similar developments. He said Beacon is soured by the experience and that this marks the second large-scale housing developoment application lost, referencing the Atkins Corner project on Hampshire College-owned land last year.
Planning Board member Jerah Smith told the panel that he was upset by what happened, and the entire community is culpable.
“We failed the people who could have been our neighbors in that building,” Smith said, noting one silver lining may be finding ways to advocate for other affordable housing.
“We let six members of our community speak for all of us and those future residents,” Smith said.
