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Date: 7/13/2022
NORTHAMPTON – The city of Northampton is currently working on an ordinance that would rezone 130 Pine St., which houses the Florence Congregational Church (FCC) and Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity.
During a Community Resources Committee meeting on June 27, Carolyn Misch, the interim director of Planning & Sustainability, the goal of this process is to rezone 130 Pine St. from urban residence – which it is now – to office industrial.
Essentially the city is looking to expand the office industrial zone just south of Florence Center so that it includes the FCC property. With this change, Bombyx – which uses the space now in conjunction with the church – could conduct events that otherwise would not be allowed under the urban residence zoning.
The religious uses that are occupying the building now will stay intact, according to Misch, regardless of the zoning change.
“The reason behind this [zoning change] is to help facilitate the reuse and the future viability of this historic building by allowing an expanded range of uses that could happen on this property,” said Misch.
According to Misch, this process is very similar to the one that occurred a few years ago when the
Florence Grammar School was rezoned to office industrial to open a range of opportunities for reuse of that building to attract reinvestment, while maintaining the building’s historical integrity.
Misch also said this is not the only pathway to allowing more flexibility for the FCC property. In all of the current zoning districts of the city, there is an allowance that was adopted eight years ago to facilitate the reuse of a number of historic and institutional buildings that are in residential districts. The city could also take this path, if desired.
For 130 Pine St., the Planning & Sustainability Department is also recommending what is called a “side” or development agreement with Bombyx to allow the building to create income and revenue that helps permanently protect the building. The development agreement would stipulate that an historic preservation restriction would be put in place, as well.
“We’ve done this kind of development agreement and zoning change with other properties in the city, so it’s now new,” said Misch. “It’s certainly one way to provide for the outcomes that the city would be interested in seeing realized.”
Background
Laudable Productions, the music and live event producer in Easthampton, acquired the FCC property late in 2021 and turned it into Bombyx, a multi-purpose performance venue and arts center that houses live music, art exhibits, music workshops, community gatherings and more.
Prior to this acquisition, the FCC spent several years searching for a buyer for the property that would allow them to remain in place and also allow the existing tenants – the Cloverfield Preschool and Beit Ahavah synagogue – to also remain. The reason for this is because the congregation was shrinking in size, and the work and expense of maintaining the property was beyond them financially.
To alleviate this stress, Bombyx came in and agreed to a six-and-a-half-year lease with the FCC. Once that lease is up, the FCC will have a 99-year lease which will enable them to remain on the site.
“[The lease] was critical for them, but it’s also critical to part of our commitment to that remaining sacred space and multi-use space,” said Cassandra Holden, the creative director for Laudable Productions. “Our project has been to develop a business plan that enlivens that area but also generates enough revenue to support the physical structure and all of the work that needs to take place to maintain that in perpetuity.”
Much of Bombyx’s plan with the space include arts programming, as well as creating a collaborative commercial kitchen by renovating the one on site. “The combination of creating rehearsal and rental space for meetings and other activities, bringing the arts into the project, and then also bringing this commercial kitchen into this project, mean there are essentially three sources of revenue to support this building,” said Holden. “The rezoning is critical … both to enable arts and entertainment, but also to enable us to operate the commercial kitchen.”
The process
According to Misch, this ordinance has already gone in front of the Planning Board and will also go in front of the city’s Legislative Matters Committee. The Planning Board sent a positive recommendation for the rezoning to the City Council with a request that asks Bombyx to meet with abutting residents to go over operating conditions and restrictions. The Community Resources Committee also sent a positive recommendation to the City Council.
Prior to sending the positive recommendation, City Councilors Rachel Maiore and Alex Jarrett – who are also part of Community Resources – noted how there were concerns from surrounding residents about noise and parking as well as people staying out too late while visiting Bombyx. Jarrett said, however, that Bombyx has been very proactive in terms of noise reduction and putting signs out so people know where to park.
Holden also added that Bombyx has an agreement with the Florence Community Center for parking to build revenue, and they have adjusted their programming in ways that will not disrupt the community.
“I’m interested in coming to a respectful and informal agreement with the neighborhood,” said Holden. “To me, it feels important not to bake these things into the development agreement so that we have the flexibility in this project to evolve, but also to respond as the needs of the neighborhood changes.”
The topic will come before the Legislative Matters Committee on July 11. Reminder Publishing will have more on what happens with this process in the next edition.