Gateway district eyed for North Pleasant

By Scott Merzbach
Staff Writer

Published on March 05, 2010

A mix of college housing and commercial and retail space could be developed along a stretch of North Pleasant Street between the University of Massachusetts campus and downtown Amherst, providing a needed area for students to live and enhancing the town's commercial tax base.

The redevelopment concept proposed by Town Manager Larry Shaffer was recently presented to the Amherst Redevelopment Authority, which has unanimously agreed to serve as the oversight board in putting together what he is calling the Gateway Redevelopment District.

The district would be a transition zone adjacent to the campus in which about 12 acres on several parcels, including the nearly 2 acres that make up the former fraternity row, would be redeveloped.

"Our goal for all of this would be to expand the tax base by bringing development right to the border of the university," Shaffer said.

The ARA, Shaffer said, could be the crucible by which the land, on both the east and west sides of North Pleasant Street, would be assembled and be ready for development.

"We feel we're in a very good position to do what can and should be done with this," said ARA member John Coull.

Shaffer said he understands that UMass will have to be brought in as a partner, which he expects university leaders to welcome, since it would serve the university's idea of expanding the student body by 3,000 to 5,000 undergraduates.

"The proposals brought forth would involve UMass as a full collaborator," Shaffer said.

Representatives from UMass are expected to speak to the ARA at its next meeting on March 10, including the possibility of conveying parcels to the town that could lead to development. Such conveyance might involve an act of the Legislature. "The university believes it can get this property conveyed, if it has to," Shaffer said.

Other downtown property owners, including Barry Roberts, Curt Shumway and the Jones family, may be invited to attend future meetings about the project.

Shaffer said he has twice been approached by private developers to build student housing and even more recently has spoken with hotel developers, who have said they would need at least 21/2 acres for doing projects.

Existing space in downtown either doesn't have the acreage necessary to move forward with a hotel, Shaffer said, or is too complicated to put together, such as 71/2 acres in the area of Pray and Triangle streets.

Shaffer estimated there could be an $80 million student housing project and a $25 million hotel project, fitting into his goal of growing the tax base $20 million per year.

The plan would also be a way to end the student rental housing creep into residential neighborhoods, such as Lincoln and Sunset avenues and Fearing Street, and assure that this type of development is instead controlled by the town.

Shaffer refers to this as neighborhood stabilization.

"The thing I'm most concerned about is student rentals and the deterioration of single-family neighborhoods," Shaffer said.

If accomplished, might also see a large hotel at northern end of downtown meeting university's needs in much the way the Lord Jeffery Inn is used by Amherst College.

Planning Director Jonathan Tucker said the Gateway district is a perfect project for the ARA to take on because it would be a means of creating a fully walkable district from downtown the university.

The buildings constructed would have housing or hotel rooms on upper floors, with retail or office space on the ground level.

Town Meeting would have to be involved because of the need to rezone the area from its current general residence zoning to something that accommodates business, such as village center zoning.

Successful rezoning, Tucker said, will hinge on what the ARA decides the plans should include.

The properties under consideration include fraternity and sorority houses, the First Baptist Church and the MERCYHouse church.

Select Board member Gerry Weiss said the fact that two churches are included has caused a stir among the congregations.

Shaffer said they shouldn't have any fear and that no eminent domain would be considered.

Instead, he is ready to have conversations with the building commission at the Baptist Church.

"There's a fledgling idea here we'd like to investigate," Shaffer said.

At the suggestion of ARA member Jeanne Traester, members might soon visit Husky Village in Storrs, Conn., to see how the University of Connecticut is now housing several of its fraternities and sororities, and whether this could work in Amherst.