AMHERST — While continued build-out of a large-scale solar project at the former Hickory Ridge Golf Course has delayed the completion of a trail system on the 150-acre site, town officials are optimistic that the future of buildable land along West Pomeroy Lane will be determined in the coming months.
In a recent report provided to the Town Council, titled “Reimagining the Hickory Ridge Golf Course,” Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek said plans for what the site will look like in the coming years will be unveiled in the next few months, after much of the focus has been on conservation and ecological restoration of what he calls one of the most diverse properties in town.
“The goal in 2026 is to move on from a lot of the work we’ve been doing on assessment and evaluation and move on to future development,” Ziomek said.
The town bought the property for $520,000 in March 2022, with an understanding that a solar energy array would be developed. Since that time, some trails have been built and the former clubhouse for the golf course has been demolished.
Ziomek said because the solar project isn’t done yet, the public can’t be invited to fully take part in the trails, some of which pass through a construction site.
The hope, Ziomek said, is that Puresky, the solar developer, will complete the installation in the next three to four months, and then the town will be able to develop all of the recreational attributes of the site.
The possible uses for the remaining land, such as affordable housing or municipal buildings, can then get underway. Town staff initially saw the land along West Pomeroy as a place for a South Amherst fire station, but that has now been determined as being too far south for fire purposes, Ziomek said.
The town will try to figure out how many buildable acres there are, based on the riverfront area, the flood plain and wetlands, and then determine how it could be developed. A designer would likely be engaged for any housing development potential, similar to how the town is working with consultants for the former South Amherst School on South East Street and the VFW site on Main Street.
“We still have easily a couple of years of reimagining the site to where we think we want to be,” Ziomek said.
About a mile of fully accessible trails has been completed, using Community Preservation Act and Community Development Block Grant moneys and other funding. These trails will eventually connect from West Pomeroy Lane to East Hadley Road, with another connect to Orchard Valley south of the property.
“We’re in the process of doing that; it takes time, we need to replace bridges,” Ziomek said.
More funding will be needed for the trails, he said, but the end result will be one of the longest accessible trails in the state, and compares this to the Fort River Trail at the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge in Hadley.
“I think we will have a trail that rivals that in terms of natural beauty, accessibility and interest,” Ziomek said.
District 3 Councilor George Ryan, whose residents live within the district, said better access is needed from Farmington Road, as there is no sidewalk or beacon to allow for a crossing.
District 1 Councilor Cathy Schoen said people are suggesting some of the developable land be sold off to a developer, and wondered if the town could make money back or at least get some of the property returned to the tax rolls. Schoen said she is disappointed that how much land could be built on is still unknown.
“I value the open space and conservation, but the town of Amherst is quite rich in open
space and conservation,” Schoen said,
“This has grown to be an expensive fairly overall project,” Schoen said.
Part of the solar arrays will now include energy storage, which wasn’t in the original plans.
Council President Lynn Griesemer wondered if adding battery storage is putting any additional liability on the town.