NORTHAMPTON — A planned Community Resilience Hub in the works since 2019 may finally have a building to host it.

Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra announced Friday that the city has executed an option to purchase the former First Baptist Church building, located at 289 Main St. near the corner of Main and West streets and near the Forbes Library, for use as the hub.

“I am proud to announce a giant leap forward toward realizing a Community Resilience Hub in Northampton,” Sciarra said in a statement. “The search for a home for these critical services has been exhaustive, but I believe this building has been worth the wait.”

The building itself, the former home of the First Baptist Church of Northampton, has been vacant since 1993, when it was acquired by developer Eric Suher, the owner of Iron Horse Entertainment Group. It has about 14,500 square feet of space, but there is no guarantee the 118-year-old building will be able to accommodate all the required needs of the community hub.

The city will now conduct a due diligence phase following the execution of the option to purchase, to see if the building is able to meet its needs. Sciarra did not give an exact estimate on how long that phase would take, but said the city would move quickly to complete it.

“I’m really thrilled at the prospect of restoring this building, to a purpose close to what it was originally intended for,” Sciarra said in a phone interview. “I think it’s a really beautiful thing.”

The historic Roundhouse building behind Pulaski Park had previously been considered as a location, but the owner had not expressed an interest in selling at the time, according to Sciarra.

The community hub concept traces its origins to 2019 under former mayor David Narkewicz, but has continued to be strongly advocated for under Sciarra’s mayorship. The hub will support residents who face chronic and acute stress, such as those who are homeless, and act as an emergency center if there is a disaster. Although services dealing with some of these issues already exist in Northampton, the hub would serve as a centralized location for addressing the needs of vulnerable populations.

The former church would also serve as a new home for the Community Care Department, part of the city’s Department for Health and Human Services, the mayor said.

The Community Care Department is responsible for providing an alternative to police responses for community needs, including trained civilian emergency response to mental health, substance use and other crisis calls.

Funding for the hub project, including the purchase of a building, comes from sources including $1.6 million derived from marijuana community impact fees and a $200,000 pledge from Smith College. The city has also received roughly $507,000 from Community Development Block Grant funds and $53,000 from other donations. The exact price of the purchase will be determined following the due diligence phase.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.

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