AMHERST — A proposal to develop three four-story, mixed-use buildings on Hampshire College land near Atkins Corner is receiving mostly praise from members of the Planning Board, even as some residents who live nearby worry about the height of the buildings and the possibility that the apartments will be occupied by college students, rather than families.

Planners at a March 19 initial presentation by developer Archipelago Investments LLC mostly supported plans for the former apple orchard that call for 140 apartments with 262 beds, and 12,000 square feet of commercial space on about 8 acres of land that’s zoned business village center off Gould Way and Lannon Lane.

“I think this is what a very good project application looks like, both in terms of the product presented, and the way it was presented, and the obvious thoughtfulness that’s gone into this over a long time,” said board member Bruce Coldham.

Archipelago principal Kyle Wilson said the buildings will have a mix of one, two and three bedrooms, and every unit will have a kitchen, a dining area and a living room, along with a balcony. The buildings will be all-electric and passive code compliant, with solar generation on site and mechanical equipment on the roofs.

Some of the commercial space in Building 3, closest to West Street, could be for a child care enterprise, with an accessible play area and easy pickup and dropoff.

“Our hope with this site and a very large commercial tenant, is that this becomes a child care facility of some sort,” Wilson said

Senior Planner Nate Malloy said the project complies with town zoning, but will need special permits to go up to four floors and above 40 feet in height.

“I think that this is a really positive proposal, and in general the allowances requested are squarely within the intent of the bylaw, and I don’t have a major problem with them,” board member Fred Hartwell said.

Lead arsenic from pesticide use at the apple orchard, though, needs to be removed to a 1-foot depth.

“In order to redevelop this site for any residential use, or any use that includes residential, 12 inches of soil needs to be removed from the entire site,” Wilson said.

Architectural colonnades will define the commercial spaces and the exterior will have thermally modified wood known as Lunawood, a low-carbon product with minimal maintenance, Wilson said.

“The proposed construction methodology of the building is similar to our 47 Olympia (Drive) project, which is hybrid mass timber,” Wilson said. “The roofs, the ceilings of units, would be exposed wood, there’d be CLT, a cross-laminated timber, the sandwich of wood that is similar to the John Olver Design Building at UMass.”

Hampshire College President Ed Wingenbach told planners that the project is essential because there is a critical need for housing in the Five Colleges area, which can present difficulties in hiring and retaining staff.

“Over the last several years, I’ve almost never been able to have someone I’ve hired to come and live in Amherst, in part because there’s nothing to buy, in part because of the price,” Wingenbach said.

Lorna Hunt, chief information officer at Hampshire College and a Northampton resident, is one of those. Hunt said she’s been shut out of the Amherst market and has recruited faculty and staff who have turned down opportunities because there is no housing.

Wingenbach said the land donor wanted housing where people could walk to campus, and that when the land is sold to Archipelago, it will be an important revenue stream and reduce stress on the college’s financial operations.

Some of the board members questioned if it will entice families.

“I think everything you can do to encourage this as a family-friendly place would be good,” said Karin Winter.

Board member Jesse Mager said enhancing the playground and play area might help.

“I just want to be really clear: My view on this it’s not going to be populated by faculty, staff and families, maybe a few, but it predominantly will be students, is my best guess,” Mager said.

Chairman Doug Marshall and member Johanna Neumann both suggested going to five stories. “If this is a village center, why wouldn’t we build it up a bit?” Marshall said.

Neumann she would like more housing near Atkins Market and the bus lines that serve the University of Massachusetts and Mount Holyoke College.

Some criticism

During public comment, there was mixed reaction, with some criticizing the plans.

Maria Kopicki of Country Corners Road said this would double the population of the area and create a traffic nightmare.

“I think the folks who are praising this really don’t have an understanding of what it is to live here,” Kopicki said.

It will become dormitories for mostly UMass students, said Gustavo Oliveira of Country Corners.

“If the idea is this should be family-friendly, and that we have a so-called housing crisis and we need more units, this is extremely misleading, because over 80% of the units proposed are very small,” he said.

Oliveira’s spouse, Li Zhang, said she worries about safety for children and senior citizens and the demographic change.

“I’m really concerned with who will actually end up renting this place and who will be living here,” Zhang said.

Sherry Wilson of McIntosh Drive said it’s an attractive project, but might be too tall. “I’m concerned about the height and the number of stories. Most other rural South Amherst apartment complexes are only two or three stories tall, it just seems out of scale,” Wilson said.

Chris Hoch, also of McIntosh Drive, said he doesn’t want to see zoning exceptions for construction rejected last year by the Zoning Board of Appeals, after the developers “gussied it up a bit.”

Nancy Eddy of Spencer Drive said she’s in favor of the village center planning process, and that the new commercial space could be good for Applewood Apartments residents. “It seems a little high for this general area, but I know you will look at that carefully,” Eddy said.

Jason Dorney of Hickory Lane said he would support taller buildings because the site is walkable to Hampshire College for those who work or study there.

“This is a great example of us shooting ourselves in the foot and getting in the way of producing housing,” Dorney said.

The project returns for review April 16 at 6:40 p.m.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.