AMHERST — A $47.5 million mixed-use project planned for North Amherst, with 26 of 130 apartments to be set aside for low- and moderate-income families, missed out this week on state financing necessary for it to move forward.
The North Square at the Mill District, which would also feature 22,000 square feet of commercial space, was not among the $72 million in projects receiving awards from the Department of Housing and Community Development that were announced Aug. 15.
“We were disappointed to hear yesterday that we were not funded and are now evaluating next steps,” said Darcy Jameson, development director for project developer Beacon Communities Development of Boston.
“From the town’s perspective, it’s a disappointment, but we know it’s a quality project,” said Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek. “We hope it can be brought back at a future date.”
Ziomek said town officials have a great relationship with Beacon, in part because of its work to preserve affordable homes at Rolling Green Apartments.
Earlier this year, Beacon received a comprehensive permit from the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals, under the state’s chapter 40B affordable housing law, to build on 5.3 acres of vacant industrial land on Cowls Road owned by W.D. Cowls.
The developer then applied for financing under the Massachusetts Housing Partnership after the Select Board in February agreed to give a tax break through the town’s affordable housing property tax incentive program.
The North Square project is seen as a means of enhancing the town’s tax base, increasing affordable housing, with apartments to be set aside for tenants who earn 50 percent or less of the area’s median income, and continuing the development in the North Amherst village center, where in recent years an Atkins Farms Country Market satellite store has opened, and the Trolley Barn has been built and houses Bread and Butter restaurant and The Lift salon.
Plans are also underway to realign the intersection of Montague and Sunderland roads, with the town recently seeking a MassWorks Infrastructure Program grant. Ziomek said the town should learn this fall whether it will be awarded this funding.
The DHCD awards, including subsidy funds and state and federal tax credits, will create, rehabilitate and preserve nearly 2,000 units in Massachusetts. No projects in Hampshire County were supported in this year’s funding round, but a handful were approved in Hampden and Franklin counties, including the 222-unit MacArthur Terrace in Chicopee, the 229-unit Holyoke Farms Apartments in Holyoke and the 234-unit King Pine in Orange.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com