An old friend of mine, Ben Spencer, who's been a consistent voice of reason and a resident of the Hospital Hill area of Northampton has been making the media rounds this week (June 5th on WHMP and June 7th in the Hampshire Gazette) regarding the recent developments concerning the Village Hill project development in Northampton. The following is the complete reprint of his Op-Ed piece in the June 7th issue of the Hampshire Gazette. I'm lazy like any journalist. I felt Ben's words were more important than any of my paraphrasing.
On Thursday, May 22, I attended the meeting in the City Hall Council Chambers where the Citizens Advisory Committee unanimously approved the changes to the master plan for development of the former Northampton State Hospital now known as Village Hill Northampton.
By the time I left, I was both optimistic for the future of the site and at the same time concerned about what that future might look like. What was made very clear at the meeting was the fact that Kollmorgen wants to stay in Northampton and that the city of Northampton, as represented by the CAC and the Chamber of Commerce, wants to keep them here. Much praise was given the fact that Kollmorgen is our fifth largest employer and our largest "for profit" employer in town. I have every confidence that Kollmorgen is a good corporate citizen. I am certain Kollmorgen wants to stay in Northampton for the same reasons I do. This is a special place to live and work.
The master plan for Village Hill Northampton has been changed several times over the past eight years that I've been attending meetings. The overall vision has always been to create a vibrant neighborhood that included apartments and homes for people of various incomes, business offices, light industry and some retail. Mass Development's Web site for the project (www.villagehillnorthampton.com) states that "Village Hill Northampton is a spectacular location complete with walking trails, panoramic views and hundreds of mature specimen trees. Natural beauty and outdoor recreation abound." The Web site also mentions that the village is a short walk to downtown Northampton and "minutes from major highways." All of this is true and the fact of the matter is that the location Kollmorgen will be occupying is one of the most spectacular pieces of property in the Pioneer Valley.
The CAC. approved changing the master plan to allow Kollmorgen to build a 150,000-square-foot facility and a 450-car parking lot on this property. The revised master plan that was distributed at the meeting makes it clear that this facility will be a significant element in the landscape and will set the tone for the entire Village Hill. Indeed, it is the gateway to the Village. Mass Developers stressed at the meeting that the new master plan (which was dated the day of the meeting) was intended to convey the proposed change to the scope of the project and not the final design of the Kollmorgen facility.
Because of the unique and significant location that Kollmorgen will occupy, I would urge everyone involved in the Village Hill project to fully appreciate the opportunity that is presented here. The new Kollmorgen facility will be highly visible from all directions and needs to be architecturally attractive. The parking lots could be distributed around the facility to diminish their visual presence. The three buildings on Prince Street (Route 66) that had been part of the previous plan should be retained since they would serve to balance the scale of the Kollmorgen facility. Kollmorgen would be the "anchor" for a diverse business community that would occupy these buildings. This would allow for more businesses to be a part of Village Hill and would increase the opportunities for people to both live and work in the Village.
Creating pedestrian access between the upper and lower portion of the south campus and connecting it directly to the bike path now under construction would allow the employees and residents of Village Hill to walk into downtown Northampton on an efficient and what I'm sure will be a beautiful path. Preserving the groves of mature trees will help the site retain its natural assets, will help break up the views of the new Kollmorgen facility and will provide appropriate scale in the landscape. Continuing the bike path shown on the new master plan along the periphery of the hilltop to the sidewalk on Prince Street would give everyone in our community an opportunity to enjoy the magnificent views of the Mill River, Mount Tom and the Holyoke Range.
There is every reason for this project to move ahead. I would respectfully ask that everyone involved keep the project heading in the direction of excellence and remember the longstanding plan to create a thriving and vital Village on the Hill. The work that has begun and been done on the north campus is heartening. Walking on Olander Drive and Moser Street as construction continues is an exciting experience. The possibility to create something exceptional is clearly visible. I would encourage everyone to come and visit Village Hill as it continues its transformation.
Kollmorgen has chosen the Village Hill site for their new facility over the Northampton Industrial Park and has determined that there is no other site in town that can accommodate their growing needs. Kollmorgen's new facility will be a part of the landscape for many years to come. There is every reason to build this facility to very high standards so that it is an asset to the Village Hill neighborhood. The new master plan of May 22 displayed a design that neglected the exceptional location and burdened the area with an uninspired building hidden behind a wall of freshly planted trees and abutted by an acre of cars. Let us look to the future and visualize a plan that maximizes the potential of the site. The new Kollmorgen facility needs to be a state-of -the-art, architecturally interesting, environmentally sensible building set in the landscape in a way that maximizes every view. I am certain that Kollmorgen will work with the city of Northampton and the developers of Village Hill to design a plan that will be on the leading edge of intelligent design and that together we can create a solution that reflects positively on the company and the city.
What happens on the hill will affect the neighborhood, the city and the area. People standing on the deck of the Summit House at J.A. Skinner State Park will be able to see the Kollmorgen facility clearly with the naked eye. I would urge everyone to visit these Web sites: www.villagehillnorthampton.com, www.kollmorgen.com, www.calzoni.com (a subsidiary of Kollmorgen), www.arrowstreet.com and www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/skinner. All of these sites are excellent and informative and have helped me get a better understanding of the Village Hill Northampton project.
If you wanted to know, Benjamin Spencer is an artist who lives in Northampton.
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