Input sought on Village Hill plan
From The Republican
By Fred Contrada
Saturday, October 25, 2008
The Citizens Advisory Committee for the Village Hill Northampton project is seeking public input on a request by the developer to build an additional 100 units of housing.
The Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, a quasi-public agency charged with developing the former Northampton State Hospital campus, has asked permission to create 100 housing units that are provided for in the master plan. The original plan to build on the 536-acre property called for 207 housing units. Because the plan included a provision to adjust that number by 10 percent without city approval, the maximum allowed is 227.
That number could grow to 327 if the city approves the development agency’s request. Northampton Economic Development Coordinator Teri A. Anderson said Friday that both the development agency and the city would like to see denser development of the area. The master plan called for estate-sized homes on the other part of the parcel, but officials believe it would be better to build more, smaller homes there.