18C-048 737 Bridge St 2017-02-13City of Northampton
Massachusetts
DEPARTMENT OF BUILDING INSPECTIONS
212 Main Street ● Municipal Building
Northampton, MA 01060
New or Continued Use of the Northampton Nursing Home Property
737 Bridge Road
Northampton, MA 01060
Map/Block 18C-048
The Northampton Nursing Home at 737 Bridge Street in Northampton is a two story, 70,000 square foot
masonry building constructed in 1971. It is located on a 6.2 acre site at the intersection of Bridge Road,
Prospect Avenue and Hatfield Street. It has most recently been occupied as a state licensed nursing
home. It closed in 2011 and has been unoccupied since that time.
The building department was called to the building in January 2014 to investigate a report of frozen
water pipes. At that time, a portion of the building had flooded. The utilities to the building, including
water, electricity and natural gas, were shut off and the building was declared unsafe to use or occupy.
The building is located in a URB (Urban Residential B) zoning district. Potential uses allowed in the
URB district for this type of building include a nursing home licensed by the Massachusetts Department
of Public Health, an assisted living facility licensed by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder
Affairs, municipal facilities, community centers, educational uses, nonprofit, dormitories, any religious
use, day care, school-aged child-care program (MGL c. 28A, § 9) nonprofit museums, private for-profit
colleges, schools defined by the Northampton Zoning ordinance or other uses allowed by
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40A, section 3 or Chapter 40B, section 21. These uses will
require approvals from the Northampton Planning Board and possibly the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Planning Board approvals will include site plan review and may require changes to the site. Please see
the next page for a summary of relevant sections of the zoning ordinance and the URB district Table of
Use.
Because the building has been damaged and is not currently habitable, the State Building Code
requires an investigation and evaluation of the existing structure. This report will determine the extent of
work required make the building safe to occupy. This process is required for a change of use or
continuation as a licensed nursing home. Plans must be prepared by, and repairs or renovations must
be supervised by a registered design professional. Please see page 3 for a summary of building code
requirements.
This will a significant project. We will need detailed proposals, including site plans, before we can
provide more information. The city can arrange a tech review with Planning, Zoning, Building, Fire,
Police, DPW and the Mayor’s office to review proposals but they need to include very specific
information and professionally prepared plans. Please see page 4 for a summary of special permit and
site plan requirements.
Feel free to contact me with questions.
Respectfully,
Louis Hasbrouck
Building Commissioner
City of Northampton
(413) 587-1240
lhasbrouck@northamptonma.gov