Northampton State Hospital/Village Hill newspaper coverageV
Gardening project
gets under wa h
The Ham y Co
r h er
munit 'd" County vice about communit
start Wednesd ro
a Pject will dening.
Y at 7:30 Y gar
with a "kickoff" p m The property will be plowed
High School.
Little Theater of No
The land will then 11 e
meeting in the limed and harrowed in advance.
The count grow four divided in
co of c ommissioners walkways between groups T
several he
decided s months ago to grid wily
offer county residents plots of be plotted on
land at a which will be iv maps
minima given it each
1 cost to be used lY that signs u ch farm -
as vegetables gardens. The coin- marked out for them their lot
missioners are about to secure No chemicals will be spread
land at the Northampton State plots so that those who
Hospital, fronting n the
Road. g on Bur Pit os Oto garden organically may
Gardeners will have to
Wednesday's meetin Provide their own seed
held to register applicants g will be water, fertilizer and othertoo r'
land plots and Offering info for Beni n a Bar-
rme quipment.
tion to those interested. c ommissioners are seek -
in The volunteers to help in the
Most parcels will be 20 by 20 add aration of the project They
.
feet, although ac comrrations People attending
for individuals and large
Wednesday's session will be
families will be made. given preference in site selec-
Commissioners and ti on although others can si n u
offering the land si ce th are later for garden plots. g P
of the recession the number h
people out o f
prices, home vegetable high
can save the consutmer maorney.
The Hampshire Count 1/r
Cooperative Extension Service jS UUI�
is assisting with the project, and
, regional eta John - Howell veble 1 '
and tobacco specialist, will be at
Wednesday jf
Y session �i
to give ad-
H i stor
By GREG KERSTETTER
Staff Writer
NORTHAMPTON — The soon-
to -close Northampton State Hos-
pital property could be a magnet
for sorely - needed new industries
and the jobs that go with them, .
say city officials.
But .a local economic develop -
ment expert fears that any job
growth on the property could be
delayed for up to five years or
even choked off entirely by a
state agency intending to create
a historic district there.
The Massachusetts Historical
Commission sees the Northamp-
ton State Hospital — including
its centerpiece, a 137- year -old;
Gothic- revival style building —
as a window to the past and a
must to preserve.
The Northampton State Hospi-
tal is one of 15 properties across
the state that the commission
wants to, list with the National
Park Service on a register of'
vies Wf
in(
historic places to preserve a "As far as we're concerned
legacy of care for the mentally ill ' (being on the national historic
and mentally retarded. register) does not make it unde-
But the way Janet Gezork of velopable," Curro said.
the Massachusetts Government Meeti here in A ril
Land Bank sees it, the only g p
legacy of putting the Northamp Members of the Massachusetts
ton State Hospital on a national Historical Commission are ex-
historic register would be one of petted to meet in Northampton
an economic opportunity missed. in late April to discuss its plans
"We think it's -a major road- for the state hospital
block," to developing the state Curro said that 55,000 proper -
hospital, Gezork said. ties in Massachusetts are cur -.
Wayne Feiden, the city's senior rently on the national register of
planner, agrees that designating historic places and that restric=
the hospital 'p'roperty as histori- tions against modifying; or razing
tally significant could slow devel- buildings are not as strict as
opment. And he Mso fears the some people might think.
local control that would disap- But.. Gezork sees .the decision
pear once the Historical Corn- as coming down to preserving
mission gets involved. history" or creating fobs; ;
But Sandra Curro, director of If all 15 state properties are
public information for the Histor- put on a national historic regis-
ical Commission, warns people ter, "I shudder to tli'nk of the
against jumping to false conclu- economic losses we'll' have as a
sions. Preserving historic build - result," Gezork said. "It frightens
ings does not mean choking the me — we need' jobs 'I jq� "
economic engine, she said. Last, summer the ssachu
I u ' s .* try at site
setts Government Land Bank, a "It's an enormously complicat- an extra five years.
lending agency which pushes ed project," said Gezork. "Every- The state hospital's inclusion
economic development, was in time you put another overlay of on the national register would
terested in acting as the broker ,regulations, it adds to the com- also 'mean loss of local control
for selling the 230 acres of plexity." for the city, said Gezork.
developable land at Northamton But the Historical Commission ,Feiden has the same fear.
State Hospital. denies that putting the property He said that the zoning regula-
But Gezork, the land bank's on the national register would tions that the Planning Board is
project developer for western prohibit the razing or modifica- currently debating would do
s.
Massachusetts, said that when tion of building much to preserve the historic
the Historical Commission made In a letter to Feiden, Judith B. integrity of the state hospital
its intentions known ' her agency McDonough, executive director
he commission writes: "It is campus. The Planning Board will
of t
quickly backed away. of demolition would be hold a hearing on the zoning
The land bank wanted no part
all to 'proceed if prudent Proposal at 7 p.m. Thursday in
o ... f managing the sale of the state the City Council chambers of the
hospital land because develop- and feasible alternatives were
P � P Wallace J. Puchalski Municipal
ment under the regulations of exhausted and if the proposed Building.
the Historical Commission would project involved public benefits
make the financial risks too that balance the loss of historic With the support of Northamp-
great. resources." ton Mayor Mary L. Ford, Feiden
Gezork said that the process of has lobbied the Historical Com-
Gezork, who lives in Montague, searching for alternatives to raz- mission, to exclude the buildings
estimated that the land bank ing buildings takes time, and on the east side of Route 66
would have to spend nearly $1 that scares developers. known as the Memorial complex
million to market the state hos- She estimated that finding a — from the national register.
piital epronrm including money buyer for the state hospital land, Those buildings were built in the
for studies. ee g planning while it was listed on the nation- 1930s.
al historic register, would take That request was denied.
;93
l -
ny JUINATHAN NEUMANN
Conservation Commission
members last night strongly
criticized the county govern -
ment for what one member
termed "disorganized, very
quickly and ha hazardly put
together" pla s for a new jail.
Brian Elliot of the conserva -
tion commissi said that he
was "very - annoyed" at the at-
titude of .county officials, par-
ticularly County Commission
chairman David Musante.Elliotts:,
said that the county, �rn
presenting plans for a new jail
on land at the Northampton
1 State Hospital, has ignored long-
' standing open -space plans for
the same land by the conserva-
tion commission.
Conservation Commissioia
member Robie' Hubley added Elliott also criticized county
that the commission's plan for officials for presenting what
both a jail and open space appeared to him as a "very dis-
represented a fair compromise, organized plan." He said that at
while the .county's plans for a the recent meeting, County
jail are one - sided. Planner Richard Gafney, High
Elliott said he was particular- Sheriff John Boyle and Musante
ly unhappy with a comment each "said different things
Musante made to Conservation about the same plan."
Commission chairman Richard Elliott, director of Look Park,
Carnes"at a meeting 10 days ago. said that none of the county of-
Ellio t quoted Musante as ficials "knew what kind of
saying," We can show you bricks acreage they were talking
and m6rtar (in the jail plan about. They all used different
What can you show us in your figure Elliott said he was not oppos-
Elliott remarked, that "the -ed to the new jail, but rather to
county apparently cannot un- "the way, they've come up with
derstand that open. space, it in such'a hurry."
agriculture and land conserva- Other Conservation Commis -
tion is a plan and is worth sion members pointed out that
saving." they have developed an 'open
space plan over the past several
years for the 300 state -owned
acres at the State Hospital
which are in question. They said
that the commission has receiv-
ed opinions from many boards
and groups in the city on their
plan.
They said the county jail plan
failed to include the wide opi-
nion sampling included in the
conservation plan.
In response to the conserva-
tion commission charges, Coun-
ty Planner Gafney said today
that the county has been work-
ing on plans carefully for
several years and has approach-
ed city officials, including the
mayor, to discuss the county
(Continped on page 3)
.,
1 /
Golden.fit
f o r ci ty,
d evelo ' ' er'
P .
NORTHAMPTON`
N December 1978, a- federal court
ordered mentally ill people in
western Massachusetts to be treated
in community programs rather than
institutions like the Northampton $ tate.
Hospital.
It closed 15 years later.'
Last week, just as significant a
decision was made with the selectiori- of }
The Community.;Buiiders to oversee
development of 129 acres `at the frmer
testate hospital — some of the most 'prince
real estate in the city. '
The match between the nonprofit
Community Builders and Northampton
appears golden. The developer's vision
for the state hospital property mirrors
goals established a dozen years ago.
In 1986, a 19- member citizens
advisory committee, issued a 10- page
o report with guidelines for how to 're -use
the state hospital; property,
i
They called for:
■ Preserving the site's scenic and
natural character.
■ Mixing residential, commercial and,
industrial uses.
■ Guaranteeing some jobs and
housing to people who are mentally ill.
Key aspects of the development plan
include:
E Building between 150 and 200
housing units with a mix: of single -
family homes and townhouses. They..,
would vary in price so people of all°
income levels could live' there; 15
percent would go to state Department
of Mental.Health; clients:
■ Creating 'some + .50 jobs in space "z
designed for commerce and light
industry including' professional offices,,'
live -in studios and- new. media
involving computers and the Internet 0 4
Fifteen percent `of the jobs .would b
- — sbt:aside for DMH clients
Leaving most of the `land
undeveloped. A _total of 382 acres WW"'
remain as open space, ,for agriculturalA -
or recreational use. a
Gerald Joseph. is director of the
Spring field' off ice 'of The' Community
Builders and °will oversee the decade:
bng:- project j
"The challenge -is in creating. r } A
somethiing .which, balances all these €
interests and needs"
, _ he` says:
"There is a need for affordable
housing and needs of people with
mental illness.
"You have to balance that with the
goal of making this' d: tax-producing
piece . of property that generates
employment."
Joseph, 45, has made his career in
the Pioneer Valley since graduating
from the ; University of Massachusetts, c
at Amherst.in 197.5. He worked first for"' x_
the Brightwood Development Corp. in
Springfield, then directed the Franklin {
County Community'Development Corp.., .
in Greenfield, and has'been. with
Community Builders for seven_ years.
He lives in' Shutesbury_ with his wife: 4
Maureen Romano, who at one time
worked for U.S. District Judge Michael
Ponsor when he was monitoring the
order phasing out the state hospital
The Comr nity,Builders:.began in t .
tss� by renQva"ting 83 abandoned
apartments' in the South End of Boston.
Now it has`'offices in eight eastern U.S.
cities, including Louisville, Ky., where
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7 M A r m
By KRIS HUNDLEY
For'over 130 years, the Hampshire
County House of Corrections has loomed
,above Union Street in Northampton, an aging brick fortress with arched windows, a
neighbor to the tightly packed homes around
it. But this will change in the not
distant f uture because at th other end of.town anew jail is rising fast, and -by spring
1985; the old buil-ding will stand vacant.
*And wh will become the of this
architectural landmark ? Will it be- renovated
into chic condos, subsidized
apartments, stores; - or might it serve as a day- care center, or perhaps social- service
agency offices ?'Or will it simply be demolished
The public's discussion of the fate
of the Union Street jail begins in less that
two weeks, on November ,1 of 7:30 p.m. in th County Courthouse and you - the public
are cordially invited to be there.
Y
fk
Tell Mario Mazza, outgoing chairman of Nor-
direction. But in a time of. dwindling public resources
thampton's city. property committee, that you want to
we tried to get some public benefit from the disposa
I
- .talk about the disposal of public and he'll
-look, at you incredulously. "Why ? nothing left
of these properties," planner Bunnell says.
The Williams Street School in Ward 3 was the first
to sell!:"
Northampton planner, adds,
victim of Proposition 2 1/2 .fever when it fell into the
lap broken boiler and leaky in the
Gene Bunnell city,
€
"The
city's with a roof
fob's co, pleted and I ithink it's been .done tivetl
yvInter of,1901.For,_one b e f nom nt, the: . of
`�.
At times it'a ost seemed` a bit .like Going out of
turning the brick, three - story building into six or sever
:Business' safe around here."
subsidized apartments for low- income, families waE
`
Bath men are talking about disposal, or efforts to
discussed. The city's housing authority actually hac
sell, a "tremen(dous_ chunk" of city property within just
more than $'200,000 of state money in hand to remode
he past two gears — Williams Street School, West
the building. But this proposal was immediately
=Farms: Schoo[, the .roundhouse (originally' built for
trounced at a public hearing in early June 1981, wher
storing. gas), .the municipal garage and, most recently
local residents made it clear that they were against
the Hawley -D.A. Sullivan school complex. There are
subsidiz housing. Instead, residents preferred to see
still two major public properties soon to come on the
the building developed for market- rate - housing or dad
market, and though no one equates the sale of a rural
care.
one -room schoolhouse like West 'Farms to the
Requests for .proposals, commonly called RFPs
upcoming disposal- of an imposing building like the
went out from city hall. Five: bids came in and the city
Jail , onto the 530 acre state hospital complex, there is
property committee chose the lowest - a $5,000 offer
i
hope that valuable lessons were learned. about setting `
by - the Gillen Partnership, an Amherst architecture
of public goals and the definition of public benefit
firm, to turn the building into' three residentia
from the city's recent experiences.
condominiums, each with adjoining studio apartment:
At a time when the downtown finds itself in the
that can be rented out. In choosing Gillen, the
`
middle of ` fantastic surge of private development
committee rejected three other housing proposals anc
with enormous prices paid for buildings, many
one from the non- profit Nonotuck Day Care Centei
observers are nagged by the belief that Northampton
which was housed in St. John's church on Elm St
has been a 'real "creampuff" in past real estate
Nonotuck offered $10,000 for the property which hac
t i
transactions - giving away far too much for much too
been assessed by the city at;o.ver $90,000.
little. Some citizens clamor for a clearer, more public
The committee and later the full City Counci
disposal. process, they charge that too many discus-
cited the large investment Gillen intended to, make it
sons have gone on behind closed doors or that
the building (over $205,000) and the future tax revenue:
hearings were-mere formalities masking foregone
as their reasons for choosing Gillen's proposal. Today
'
conclusions. Others argue that past decisions in which
the condominiums and apartments at the old Williams
"public benefit" was defined simply as higher tax
Street School are -fully occupied, each floor havinc
revenue were just too narrow and perhaps even
sold for over $80,000 when the project was completes
damaging to the community. But some say good deals
in late 1982.
have been made that have bolstered the value of the
Due to the state schedule of'assessments, thi,
property and enhanced the neighborhoods. As the
property has officially remained on the tax rolls a;
county's jail and state hospital complex await their
exempt property through 1983 and . has not ye
day on the block, city residents, indeed those of the
generated any read estate taxes. But according to the
entire county, may have much to learn by what the city
city assessor's office, the old school is now evaluates
did.
at a total of $231,.150 and, at a tax rate of about $23 pe
$1,000, should produce $5,316 beginning in 1984.
Len Budgar, current City Councilor from Ward 3
P roposition
believes that the disposal of the neatly groomer
2 pushed the city to divest itself of
W11 Street School "turned out beautifully." "Aw
property that may have had long -term possibilities.
there's still a little nucleus of hard - sellers, people whc
And there's no question that the city went far in that
don't like what happened for very selfish reasons. Bu
4 Hampshire Life, October 21,1983
I
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