NORTHAMPTON – The buyers of the former Registry of Deeds building at 33 King St. have revealed more details about their plans to develop affordable housing on the property, although it’s estimated to be at least a year before construction begins.
Jessica Allan, the real estate development director at Valley Community Development (Valley CDC), and Julia Scannell, a senior development project manager at The Community Builders (TCB), presented plans for the 92-unit complex Monday at a Northampton Housing Partnership meeting. The development calls for two, five-story buildings on the 1.46-acre downtown property next to the closed Calvin Theater and across from Hotel Northampton. Each building would be around 50,000 square feet in size.
The current building on the property, constructed in 1975 and vacant since 2019, would be demolished to make way for the new development, and each building would be owned separately by the two organizations. The property would also include 22 parking spots for residents, according to the presentation.
Allan said for the 42 units in the Valley CDC building, ranging in size from studios to three-bedroom apartments, 11 would be for those making 30% of the average median income (AMI) or lower for the area, 22 would be for those making 60% or lower, and nine would be “workforce” units for those making between 80%-120% of the local AMI.
“Just to give you some context on numbers, 100% AMI limit for a two-person household in our statistical area is $95,200,” Allan said. “So, a two-person household making $95,000 a year could potentially live in one of the workforce housing.”
The income-limit breakdown is similar at the second building to be run by TCB, which will also feature a commercial space, per the city’s bid requirements. Though the buildings are owned separately, there will be two outdoor spaces that will be shared between residents of the two buildings, according to Allan.
“We’re still thinking about what those spaces might be. Maybe it’s some playground equipment, maybe it’s some seating, we’re not exactly sure,” Allan said. “TCB’s building actually even has a dog area for their building, so that’ll be a component of it as well.”
Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra announced on July 31 that the city had entered into a provisional development agreement with Valley CDC and TCB for the property, after two years of trying to find a buyer. The city struggled to find interested parties for the downtown property, due to strict zoning and energy requirements, updating its request for proposals several times to lower minimum bids and required deposits. The joint bid by Valley CDC and TCB for the property was $920,000, according to Northampton Planning and Sustainability Director Carolyn Misch, less than half of the original minimum asking price in the city’s first bid.
Under the terms of the provisional development agreement, the city will retain nominal control of the property as part of a due diligence phase, as the new owners begin the permitting process for the new buildings. A proposed timeline included in the presentation on Monday estimated the completion of the the zoning and permitting for the development in May 2026, with formal acquisition to occur the following month. The Valley CDC building had an estimation completion date of summer 2029, with the TCB building to be completed the summer of 2030.
Scannell said that both TCB and Valley CDC would seek state funding, but did not say the total estimated cost for the project.
“They [the state] have lots and lots of guidelines on what materials we use, what size the units are, how high a countertop is,” Scannell said. “We do have to develop properties that conform with those if we want to be competitive for those resources that we need to do this work.”
The presentation was met with a positive reception from the Housing Partnership, including from member Ben Wood.
“It is exactly what the city needs,” Wood said. “I firmly believe in mixed-income housing options, and this seems like an incredibly valuable and powerful example of that.”
Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.
