EASTHAMPTON — A major $45 million project that calls for affordable housing on the hill between Park Street and Westview Terrace will grace the Planning Board in the coming weeks.
The NRP Group, a national developer that has built thousands of homes across the country, is proposing 90 affordable units and 135 parking spaces on 11.5 acres at 6 South St., which sits about a half mile from Mountain View School. According to Jonathan Gertman, the senior vice president of development for The NRP Group, the plan is to build five three-story buildings with 18 units apiece and a separate standalone clubhouse. The units will be one-, two- or three-bedroom.
“[We’re] ultimately trying to have the least possible disturbance, the best setback from … homes, and the most sensible layout for buildings based on the site contours,” Gertman said about the project, which he presented in front of a packed house of residents at a community meeting inside the Easthampton Public Safety Complex on July 29. “And then, infiltration, detention ponds, and then maximizing the amount of trees and vegetation that we can preserve.”
The units will specifically appeal to those making between 30 and 80% of the area median income, according to Gertman. In Western Mass., the 2026 AMI for a family of four is $125,000, and Gertman said rents will be set at one-third of residents’ incomes.
Additionally, the units must be affordable for at least 50 years due to a restriction that will be placed on the site. The NRP Group also has a 15-year commitment to own and operate the properties.
In the July 29 presentation, Gertman said the buildings will be “residential style” with Board and Batten accents, and the clubhouse will have several amenities including after-school space, a community room, bike parking and a fitness center. The plans also state that the Park Street side of the project will be the primary access point for cars entering/exiting.
Gertman said that each building will have fully accessible ground units and NRP will have full-time staff on site. When the NRP offices are closed, including overnight and on the weekends, residents will have access to an emergency call service for any maintenance issues.
The buildings will be all electric, which means no gas is planned on site, and Gertman said EV-ready chargers will be available. The developers are also planning to have, at minimum, solar-ready roofs, but Gertman noted that they are still finishing studies to see if solar panels are feasible for this project.
The NRP Group will purchase the property from Serio Family Realty, LLC, which has had principal offices on Park Street since 2014, according to Bizapedia. John Furman, the regional office manager for VHB Engineering in Springfield-the engineer on record for the project-stated that the two existing homes on 6 South St. and 215 Park St. will be demolished. After that happens, the developers plan to revegetate the area.
“We were introduced to [the Serio family] as they decided that the time was right for them to no longer own the property, so we’re working directly with them on a contract basis to purchase it,” Gertman said.
Abutters of the proposed project and a couple of city councilors attended the July 29 public meeting in person and over a Google Meet to voice opinions about the project. Residents specifically asked technical questions and voiced concerns about traffic, quality of life, population and the environment surrounding the development.
Some residents argued that the high-density population could lead to safety concerns on the roads.
Furman said the site itself is 100% compliant with all aspects of zoning, and according to a traffic study, the new housing is expected to generate 475 trips per day during a 24-hour period, including 26 during the morning peak hour and 36 during the afternoon peak period. There will be no traffic light or bike lanes added, but a crosswalk is proposed on the south end of the driveway across Park Street, along with high-visibility pedestrian signs and a sidewalk. The driveway will be ADA-compliant, but the sidewalk will not be.
Addressing environmental concerns, Furman said he found no resource areas on the site regulated by the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act or the Massachusetts Rivers Act.
“We were notified when we were doing cell testing that one of the abutters had thought we were in a wetland and called the conservation agent,” Furman said. “She called me. We had our environmental person come back out, looked at the site and confirmed that we were not.”
He added that the site contains 6.8 acres of woodland, and the developers intend to remove around 3 acres for development.
The plans show that the developers will reforest 1.9 acres.
A couple of residents were concerned that an increase in population would lead to an overflow of students at Mountain View School. However, City Councilor Amanda Newton noted at the meeting that the schools in Easthampton are not at capacity and are built to handle more students.
“What happens is when you have more students, the School Department gets more money from the state that helps to pay for those students,” she said. “And then they use that money if they need to have one more new classroom. They hire another teacher, and they have a new classroom. There’s room to do that.”
City Councilor Kiam Jamrog-McQuaid, who said he professionally studies land use and housing policy, added that the project will not be a financial burden on the city. He agreed with Newton about the fact that more students in the school system means more state investment in Easthampton.
He also commended the developers for investing in improvements to the area’s pipe diameter, which will in turn improve the sewer system.
“I just want to really push back on the idea that this is going to be a drain on our city resources,” Jamrog-McQuaid said. “I think in addition, there’s a ton of social benefits to having stable housing that is deeply affordable and actually supports the working population in our city and working families in our city. I think that is critical.”
The NRP Group is a privately held company that has been around for 30 years. Aside from income-restricted housing, they also specialize in luxury housing all across the country. Although they’ve worked in Massachusetts, this is their first time in Hampshire County.
The developers hope to submit their plans to the Planning Board for further examination in the coming weeks, and Gertman said an optimistic timeline would be to start construction at the end of 2027.
He added that construction would take 18 to 20 months.
