AMHERST — At least 200 acres of the current Hampshire College campus, representing about one-quarter of its land mass, could be redeveloped, with enough space to accommodate around 2,000 new housing units.
And with water and sewer already serving the South Amherst property, only limited investments in upgraded infrastructure would be needed.
Those are some of the preliminary details revealed during Tuesday’s initial public presentation of the ongoing Hampshire Campus Zoning Study, a project being put together by a team of consultants, working through MassDevelopment, that could guide the future use of the college site.
Planners with the Horsley Witten Group, U3 Advisors and Dodson & Flinker are evaluating the 632 acres in Amherst — the college also has 168 acres in Hadley — to determine what steps Amherst officials might take, through zoning changes, to guide the future of what has been college land for around 60 years.
Whatever comes of the study could set the stage for formal proposals for rezoning of land that currently can only be used for educational purposes. Any zoning changes would be brought to the Town Council.
With the college announcing in April that it would be closing following a teach-out this fall, MassDevelopment in June offered to provide technical assistance and expertise on environmental, land use and economic development.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman told those in the virtual session that the college is the owner of the land and has final say on its disposition.
The study, he said, already has collected a “remarkable amount of information” in a short amount of time.
As the presentation began, 155 participants were attending via Zoom. When polled, about one quarter indicated they had some interest in purchasing the property and 37% were non-Amherst residents, with the bulk of those on hand indicating they support some type of rezoning.
Peter Flinker, president of Dodson & Flinker, presented details about the potential land use, though cautioned that these are estimates based on maps and aerials, and there could be some questions over accuracy due to buffer zones from streams and wetlands.
Even so, Flinker said a large area of the property is not constrained, including the main core of the campus.
Nate Kelly, a principal planner with Horsley Witten, said the study is aligned with the June Town Council vote that buildable land should be set aside for housing, sensitive habitats should be preserved and property should be looked at for possible use for town services.
Kelly said modest investments would be required to upgrade water and sewer.
Jon Trementozzi of U3 Advisors suggested that the land could help meet housing targets in the 2025 Housing Production Plan, with demand for more housing from local college students, retirees and workers.
The consultants are hoping to have a multiday “charrette” in September to continue to planning process with scenarios. Flinker said this would be iterative and a way to yield clear proposals and visions for future uses.
The uncertainty around the future of the campus prompted questions from some of those in attendance about why the zoning examination was being done before any sale is executed.
Director of Planning and Economic Development Jeff Bagg, though, noted that an entity such as the Red Barn, which is used as a conference center and event space, might not be able to operate without being connected to the educational institution. Rezoning would allow that use to continue.
Bagg added that the closing of the college is a call to action for the town and a responsible approach.
Among the questions Bagg fielded was whether rezoning for business uses would be possible. He said makerspaces, light industry and other commercial aspects might be appropriate, but town officials need to understand if there would be demand.
The town doesn’t want to require uses that wouldn’t be feasible, he said.
But the property is big enough to allow a mix of housing and a range of residential densities, accommodating both affordable homes and higher-end, single-family dwellings.
One question centered on whether there could be a large-scale data center operating from the campus. Bagg thought it likely that zoning would be written to prevent that possible use.
While the consultants observed that Amherst can only zone for Amherst, they are keeping Hadley officials in the loop.
Jeff Davis of Horsley Witten said that more answers to questions will be posted on the website, https://www.hampshirecampuszoningstudy.com, and this will be the platform for guiding public engagement in the fall and into the winter.
Following the meeting, Bockelman said he considers what has been presented so far a reasonable approach to rezoning and is pleased that there will be a transparent process to publicize the work being done for the Hampshire campus.
