SOUTHAMPTON — With its sights set on replacing its timeworn fire and police stations, the town acquired the sprawling property referred to as 0 College Highway to serve as the site of a new public safety complex.

But the roughly 52-acre parcel has more than enough land for the complex, and on Thursday night, the town’s planning consultants at Dodson and Flinker Landscape Architecture and Planning and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission invite residents to a community visioning meeting to explore the many options available for developing the property.

“Honestly it’s like a completely blank canvas and it’s putting everyone’s thoughts and ideas into it,” said Southampton Town Administrator Scott Szczebak.

Voters approved the acquisition of the property at the town’s annual Town Meeting last May, after it was identified as an ideal spot not only for a new public safety complex, but also as the potential home for a new senior center and potentially new housing development. In June, voters approved a $2.2 million debt exclusion override to pay for the parcel, which was expected to raise residents’ property taxes by about $0.10 per $1,000, though the increase would only last until the needed funds were raised.

But in October, an unexpected philanthropic donation of $1 million from Southampton family, the Boyles, to help pay for the land acquisition, helped to cut that needed borrowing amount almost in half.

Thursday’s meeting will be an interactive workshop where all community members will be welcome to play their part in defining the future of the property. It is the first meeting in the process of developing the parcel that will entail heavy involvement and input from the general public, but the town intends to hold many more in different formats as the process moves forward.

Szczebak explained that the meeting will kick off with a brief presentation about the property and its features by Dodson and Flinker, after which the crowd will split into groups and rotate through about four different stations. At these stations, community members will be able to test different layouts of the property using maps, examine different styles of architecture and more.

“There’s going to be little stations of interaction,” Szczebak said. “The main priority right now is identifying the location for the public safety complex and the senior center.”

With each possibility or the property, there are many considerations to keep in mind. For example, Szczebak said the police and fire departments want easy access to College Highway for emergency responses, and the senior center would benefit from “passive recreation” like walking trails.

Szczebak also mentioned that many other town stakeholders have put forth potential ideas for uses of the property.

In addition, Szczebak said that Dodson and Flinker will be presenting different potential styles of housing, with different types of architecture and density options “just to get an idea of what people are looking for.”

Based on public input at this meeting, the town’s contractors will begin drafting plans and putting together further meetings, where the public will have more opportunities to share their thoughts.

Szczebak said that one additional point the town is looking for public input on is potential names for the property, so the town can stop referring to the parcel as 0 College Highway and give it a name with more of a ring to it.

Thursday’s workshop will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the William E. Norris School gymnasium.

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.