AMHERST — As heavy machinery moves about a 9-acre site off Montague Road, marking the preliminary work on 15 duplex condominiums to be constructed over the next year and that will offer first-time homeownership opportunities to 30 families, North Amherst residents are already preparing to welcome their new neighbors.

“This is a plus for the neighborhood,” says Mary Sayer, describing the good feelings about what Valley Community Development is bringing to the village center.

“We’re YIMBYs,” said Meg Gage, whose home is a short distance from the property, elaborating that neighbors are saying “yes in my backyard.”

“They’ve done a really great job of talking to the neighbors, and we’ve been so happy with how they have engaged the neighborhood,” Gage said.

On Wednesday afternoon, Sayer and Gage were among several residents in District One, town officials and others who joined Valley CDC for a groundbreaking ceremony marking the beginning of construction of Amherst Community Homes on the site used for many years by Matuszko Trucking.

Situated between Ball Lane, Pulpit Hill Road and Montague Road, which is also state Route 63, it may have been appropriate that the start of the $20.5 million development was marked on bright, sunny and mild day.

Valley CDC Executive Director Alexis Breiteneicher said it’s been a positive experience, getting a comprehensive permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals in March 2024 that culminated a process begun in 2022.

“We have felt nothing but a warm embrace from the town of Amherst for this development,” Breiteneicher said.

While public water and sewer connections were completed last fall and the former trucking terminal, auto repair garage and agricultural building was previously torn down, Keiter Corp. of Florence only began site work on April 10, removing trees and the building’s concrete pad. Now, Keiter’s workers are in the midst of installing drainage and building up the site by several feet. After this is complete, foundations can be poured for the new homes.

By June 2026, the mix of two- and three-bedroom homes should be complete, Breiteneicher said. Ten of the homes will be sold to people making at or below 80% of the area median income, while the other 20 will be sold to people making at or below 100% of the area median income. Breiteneicher said a lottery system will be in place, and Valley CDC is in the middle of prequalifying families who may be seeking mortgages.

A major source of funding is MassHousing’s CommonWealth Builder program, which aims to make single-family homes and condominiums affordable for communities of color. The CommonWealth Builder program provides a subsidy for first-time homebuyers, looking to increase homeownership for Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities and enhance generational wealth.

Breiteneicher thanked Greenfield Cooperative Bank as the lender; Jessica Allan, real estate project manager for Valley CDC, who shepherded the development through local permitting and met with community members regularly; and the Amherst Affordable Housing Trust, whose members advocated and then put $725,000 into the development. The town also provided $750,000 from its Community Preservation Act account.

In her brief remarks, Town Council President Lynn Griesemer referenced the support the development has earned. “What is so wonderful about this project is the neighborhood loves it,” Griesemer said. “They are so welcoming.”

Griesemer said the development is also important to making North Amherst a vital part of town. She pointed to other aspects of the village center, including the North Amherst Library, which was expanded and made accessible in 2024 due to a gift from Hilda Greenbaum, who was on hand for Wednesday’s groundbreaking, and the Amherst Survival Center.

Sebastian Zapata, a representative of MassHousing, called Amherst Community Homes a “tangible representation” of the types of community developments supported by the quasi-public agency.

District 1 Town Councilor Cathy Schoen said Valley CDC has used care and foresight in planning the development, and its representatives took time to listen to feedback. She pointed to the protective wooden fence near one home that offers a better buffer than the chainlink fence around the rest of the property.

Gage said she looks forward to having new families come to the neighborhood and the other improvements associated with the new development, such as a crosswalk across Montague Road that could serve to slow vehicles down and should improve safety for those walking to the nearby Puffer’s Pond and Mill River Recreation Area.

While Valley CDC could have pursued a more dense development, Schoen said the open space that will be used as community gardens and the consolidated parking have improved the site plans.

“People are delighted by what is coming in here, and appreciate the style of homes,” Schoen said. “They took great care for it to blend into the neighborhood.”

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.