A small land sale taking place in North Amherst this month marks an important step in a collaboration among three innovative organizations that are building valuable community resources for the future.

Before June ends, Amherst Community Land Trust will close on the purchase of a small parcel on North Pleasant Street, located at the southwest corner of North Amherst Community Farm and owned by the eponymous nonprofit organization that acquired the land in 2006. After the sale, Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity will partner with the trust to develop two homes on the property to be marketed at an affordable price to income-qualified buyers.

This is the first project of the trust, which incorporated in 2014 to address the shortage of affordable housing in Amherst and to strengthen neighborhoods threatened by high prices and absentee ownership. Once the homes are sold, the buyers will own the structures while leasing the land from the trust. The new homeowners will become voting members of the trust, sharing long-term stewardship responsibilities for this, and any other trust properties, with the organization’s other members.

The ground lease safeguards the community benefit of owner occupancy, and allows the trust to oversee future transfers to maintain continued affordability.

By partnering with Pioneer Valley Habitat, the trust benefits from the experience of the local branch of a global organization that has built eight homes in Amherst and more than two dozen in surrounding communities. The homes to be built on North Pleasant Street will be similar to those going up on East Pleasant Street, on land provided by the town: two units, one single-story and one two-story, sharing one wall, with separate entrances. The duplex design echoes the common L-shape of many New England farmhouses, and uses a small footprint to deliver two attractive and affordable homes.

Apart from providing land for affordable housing, the sale advances the mission of the North Amherst Community Farm by helping pay off its mortgage and ensuring the continued viability of the farm.

Although the organization acquired the farm in 2006 and has been leasing since then to Simple Gifts Farm, which operates an organic CSA, the level of debt put the west end of the property and important infrastructure, including farm worker housing, at risk.

Now, thanks to successful fundraising and this land sale to the trust, the North Amherst Community Farm will secure full ownership and be able to move to the next phase in the building of a sustainable community farm, with Simple Gifts, in the heart of the community.

Efforts to make lasting contributions to the community take time and resources, and require the support of many people and organizations.

As I’ve noted, the group has been working to secure the farm for a decade. They’ve tapped into the commitment of many community members who’ve donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase the land. The project has also benefited greatly from the generosity of the original owners of the farm, the Dziekanowski family, who initially sold the property at below market rate and later accepted less than full payment on the mortgage they held.

Public sector support has also been crucial, and we are lucky to live in a region with strong programs that facilitate these sorts of projects. The farm group’s initial acquisition received funding from the state Agricultural Protection Restriction program as well as local Community Preservation Act funds. The new project will benefit from Amherst’s commitment to affordable housing, with CPA funds paying for about 80 percent of the trust’s purchase price for the land and also contributing a portion of Habitat’s construction costs.

These public funds are supplemented in a variety of ways. Interfaith Housing Corporation of Amherst is providing the trust with a generous grant for the balance of the purchase price of the North Pleasant Street parcel, and Pioneer Valley Habitat will, as always, rely on volunteer labor and donated services to keep construction costs to a minimum.

Both the farm group and the trust are all-volunteer organizations, and all three organizations’ boards and members contribute countless hours to their efforts.

All this support is essential because of the way property is valued in our society, where a property’s “highest and best use” is considered that which earns the biggest economic return, rather than that which provides greatest benefit to the community.

Challenging this paradigm takes effort and resources.

The success of projects like those being undertaken by North Amherst Community Farm, Amherst Community Land Trust, and Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity reflects the strength of the community we have and the possibilities for what it can yet become.

Jim Oldham is a Town Meeting member from Precinct 5 and a member of Amherst Community Land Trust.

Readers can learn more about the three organizations, and how to get involved with them or support their work, by visiting their respective web pages: amherstcommunitylandtrust.org, Nacfonline.org, pvhabitat.org.