EASTHAMPTON — The two candidates seeking to claim ownership of the city’s 136-year-old Town Lodging House made their bids to city officials last week for why they deserve to steward the land for years to come.
Discussion of what to do with the Town Lodging House, located at 75 Oliver St. and vacant since 2022, reignited earlier this year when the city announced it would be attempting to sell the property once again. The two potential buyers made their case at the Aug. 26 meeting of the property subcommittee, which consists of City Councilors Kiam Jamrog-McQuaid, James “JP” Kwiecinski and Thomas Peake.
Now, the three city councilors will make their recommendations to Mayor Salem Derby. Derby will then make a recommendation to the full City Council, which has the final vote for which buyer is chosen.
The differences between the two proposals are stark.
One is a 181-page proposal from Renewal Initiatives, a nonprofit founded last summer, partnering with eight different local and national groups and organizations. Each of the four co-founders, all of whom are veterans, spoke during the presentation led by husband-wife duo Jeff and Heather Takle.
The other is a series of documents from Living Meadow Farm, a nonprofit founded two months ago by Elodie Chicoine of Chicoine Family Farm, located just up the road from the property. Chicoine presented her proposal for the land with consultation from several local organizations, including Living Meadow Farm’s construction manager, Keiter Corporation.
The 54-acre property comes with three deed restrictions with which the future owner must comply. Those include using the building on-site for affordable housing, following historic preservation restrictions, and using the land for farming.
The city currently leases the hayfields to Chicoine Family Farm. Elodie Chicoine previously told the Gazette that part of the reason she hopes to purchase the property is to help the farm continue to use the hay from the fields. Heather Takle said at the meeting that Renewal Initiatives reached out to the Chicoines to discuss possible options.
Two options in Renewal Initiatives’ proposal would allow the Chicoines to continue farming the fields through a three-year lease during construction, though Takle told the Gazette those options depend on which proposal is selected. Both proposals plan to follow the restrictions under different models, emphasizing a community-first plan.
Each proposal
Chicoine’s proposal seeks to transform the property into 20 to 25 units of “agro-housing” on the second floor of the building. People would live in “dorm-style” housing, meaning there would be a community kitchen and bathroom, while the hay fields continue to be farmed by the Chicoines. Chicoine said she hopes to maintain as much of the building’s structure as possible.
“The city is choosing more than a buyer,” Chicoine said. “When the city transfers an asset like this, the value of the decision isn’t limited to the purchase price. The city is also choosing what happens to the property for decades.”
The plan envisions transforming the garage on the property into a farm stand and community kitchen, partnering with local groups and farms to have their food sold there. The proposal would also use the property for a variety of events such as weddings, community meetings and more, while hosting classes.
Renewal Initiative’s proposal plans to implement what it’s calling a “Holistic Agriculture Academy,” a two-year training program that teaches veterans how to farm. The building will be transformed into 17 affordable units, each with its own kitchenette and bathroom with several spots reserved for Easthampton community members, not specifically veterans, while also seeking veterans from across the country.
“This is all to be community driven, as it has to date in the year and a half that we’ve been working with the community members and various organizations,” Heather Takle said. “Our vision fits into our proposal, which fits into what the city is looking for from this property.”
The Academy is described by the proposal as “an innovative educational and workforce development model integrating regenerative agriculture, peer support, suicide prevention resilience and wellness for Veterans, First Responders and underserved communities.”
Veterans attending the Academy will be trained to work on the farm, and learn tools to recover from service while providing local, state and federal resources to do so. Graduates are expected to go work on farms in the state and beyond.
The plan does not have a specific use for the farmland determined yet, but rather has a “farm plan” that will involve evaluating the land and community desire for what happens at the property.
That will incorporate a number of factors, including a neighborhood advisory committee that will work with an advisor from the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to figure out the best use for the farmland, depending on current site conditions.
The Renewal Initiatives proposal has also received many letters of support from local groups like the Easthampton Agricultural Commission — which Elodie Chicoine is a member of — and national groups.
Background and funding
One of the co-founders of Renewal Initiatives, Lawrence Rhone, said the nonprofit’s journey actually started when he received a call in June 2024 from a neighbor of the lodging house, asking for help renovating it. Rhone has worked on a number of similar projects, helping birth the Holistic Agricultural Academy model on his own farm in Montana more than a decade ago.
“When that call came in, we were able to respond,” Rhone said. “The vision was developed and sparked in 2013 when I began my journey with my family here in Montana and we were faced with acquiring our land.”
Renewal Initiatives’ plan estimates to cost approximately $8.4 million to transform the whole property, and the group says it has already secured $3.5 million. It hopes to collect funding from other sources, including $1.7 million from state and federal historic tax credits and $1.2 million from the city’s Community Preservation Act (CPA) fund over several years, with several other anticipated funding sources.
Chicoine said Living Meadow Farm currently has enough funding to purchase the property at its appraised value of approximately $47,000, but the plan aims to either secure CPA funding or private funding and public affordable housing sources after purchase. Chicoine declined to comment how much money Living Meadow Farm currently has.
Chicoine said Keiter estimated that the lodging house renovation would cost $1.5 million, but that does not include the garage renovation planned.
“For me it was very confusing to try to get through exactly how the funding would proceed and when you would apply for what specific fundings, and what the schedules were and how it would all work out,” Councilor Kwiecinski said about the Living Meadow Farm proposal.
Along with a round of questioning from councilors regarding both proposals, Jamrog-McQuaid asked each candidate what experience each proposer has in affordable housing management.
Chicoine said through her background as a special education teacher she has experience meeting deadlines and following law, but she is not a project manager and would be seeking an expert.
Renewal Initiatives’ partner, Peter Graham of Valley Housing Consultants, has been an affordable housing consultant for more than two decades. Renewal Initiatives would become the long-term owner and manager of the property.
More information about each proposal can be seen on the Town Lodging House page on the city’s website.
