AMHERST — A Boston developer is examining a North Amherst site as the possible location to construct two large-scale, affordable apartment buildings, with about 200 total units, according to a memo the town manager recently sent to the Town Council.
The Sept. 3 correspondence from Paul Bockelman to councilors and Building Commissioner Rob Morra, the town’s acting planning director, identifies Beacon Communities LLC as the company interested in developing the 18.58-acre, 246 Montague Road site, also known as the Mitchell property.
The preliminary plans, he wrote, would be to construct one building with 85 to 90 units reserved for people 55 and over, and to construct a second building with 110 to 120 units, featuring one to three bedrooms in each, for low- and moderate-income households.
“Beacon Communities is currently undertaking due diligence on the site and will decide in the next month or so whether to proceed with permitting and financing,” Bockelman wrote, noting, too, that its staff and consultants have permission to be on the site to look at wetlands, topography and other factors that will go into the decision on whether to pursue such a project.
Dara Kovel, Beacon’s CEO, confirmed the company’s interest in the site, citing the experience and reputation from its previous project in Amherst, the mixed-income, mixed-use development at North Square Apartments on Cowls Road.
“Our successful partnership with the town has encouraged us to look at this new opportunity,” Kovel said. “Right now, we’re exploring all the possibilities, including what the site can accommodate, how the development would connect to the community at North Square and how best it can meet the housing needs of Amherst and the region.”
Owned by the Thomas F. Mitchell Family Trust and Mitchell Family Farm Trust, the parcel is between Montague Road/ Route 63 and Sunderland Road/ Route 116, a short distance from where Valley Community Development is constructing its Amherst Community Homes, and just north of Cowls Road, where Beacon developed the 130 units of housing at North Square. In addition to those apartments, that site has 22,000 square feet of retail space, including the Mill District General Store, Provisions, Carefree Cakery, Futura Coffee and Herrell’s Ice Cream.
The Mitchell site had been considered for development four years ago for 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.
Under Beacon’s plans, an existing house and barn would be removed, and the portions not developed would be returned to a natural state from their current agricultural use. Beacon would also seek a connection to the shops along Cowls Road, which in addition to those at North Square include businesses in the Trolley Barn, The Harp Irish Pub and Cowls Building Supply.
If the project moves to permitting, Beacon would likely seek a Chapter 40B comprehensive permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Town board and committees would be involved, a review would be done by the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act office and MassHighway would have to allow the necessary curb cuts. Beacon is working on the appropriate permitting path, Bockelman wrote.
The town, Bockelman added, would likely be asked to grant low-income housing tax credit financing , as it did for North Square, and other funding might be sought by the developer, such as through the town’s Affordable Housing Trust and Community Preservation Act account.
Because the land is in the Chapter 61 A program that allows property owners to pay reduced taxes for agricultural land, the town could exercise its right of first refusal to acquire the property. The town opted not to do this for the Eruptor project.
A 74-acre section of the Mitchell Farm, on the west side of Sunderland Road near Meadow Street and extending into Hadley, is permanently protected in the state’s Agricultural Preservation Restriction program.