Village Hill picks up steam
From The Gazette
by Chad Cain
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Off the Beat: Village Hill picks up steam, despite economy
An anemic economy may have slowed momentum at Village Hill Northampton, but efforts to develop the former state hospital grounds into a mix of homes and businesses is picking up steam this summer.
On the north campus, where most of the homes are being constructed, Wright Builders Inc. reports that interest in its high-end subdivision has revved back up this year. The Northampton company is also a year ahead of schedule in its development of a cluster of townhouses.
Meanwhile, the state agency overseeing the sites overall development is in negotiations with a developer for a 26-home bungalow complex north of the community gardens. MassDevelopment is expected to ink a deal with that unnamed developer rather soon, said spokeswoman Kelsey Abbruzzese.
Finally, on the developments south campus, Kollmorgen Electro-Opticals new 140,000-square-foot manufacturing and office facility is expected to be completed in a few months, at which time the company plans to move its 370-plus employee workforce there from its King Street headquarters.
As for the home construction already under way, Jonathan Wright of Wright Builders said that nine of the 11 high-end, single-family lots in its Morningside subdivision are spoken for. Three of those homes are already built and one is under construction. Work on three more is slated for the fall, with two more to begin next spring.
Meanwhile, the 12-unit Eastview townhouse complex is selling fast. The first of three buildings is finished, with the units selling for between $269,000 and $349,000, depending on their location and whether they have two or three bedrooms.
Who ever wrote this really needs to examine the tenants at Hospital Hill. I am so glad I moved out. Furthermore, that new Optical building is obstructing what once was a beautiful view! The designers of such a building were certainly not thinking of the reason the state hospital was built on such scenic grounds in the first place. You already took the hospital & view. Anyone who purchases these places should really come and check out the neighborhood prior to getting locked in. I personally would never pay that to own & live in such ghetto turning an area, that was once deemed the most beautiful.