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Date: 9/5/2023
NORTHAMPTON — Affordable housing on 196 Cooke Ave. is one step closer to coming to fruition after the Planning Board approved a special permit for the creation of four units of affordable housing and more parking spaces during their meeting on Aug. 24.
According to Keith Benoit, the community development planner for Northampton, the plan is to take a two-phase approach.
Firstly, the city is aiming to revamp the parking lot on the eastern side of the location by adding 21 spaces near the Broad Brook Greenway, and then Northampton plans to sell the western side of the property to Habitat for Humanity so up to four affordable housing units can be built. Benoit said the paved parking needs to be completed by June 2024 based on grant requirements the city received for the project.
Background
Back in March 2022, the Northampton City Council voted 8-1 to allow the city to acquire the property at 196 Cooke Ave., which used to be the Moose Lodge, for the development of an animal control facility.
At the time, abutters expressed concern about the level of noise, lack of sanitation, a possible drop in property values and lack of respectability for an area that many residents argued should be for conservation instead. Others argued that a large quantity of dogs that walk around unleashed in that area could cause problems near the kennel, as well.
But pushback from abutters, including those living in the Pines Edge condo complex, shifted the city’s focus for the property to affordable housing instead.
Later that year, Sciarra specifically announced a group of livability initiatives that the city was embarking on, including the advent of up to four affordable housing units at 196 Cooke Ave.
“Consistent with the adopted goals in Sustainable Northampton, the city will continue to seek ways to knit neighborhoods back together through walking and bicycle connections,” Sciarra said in a statement to Reminder Publishing at the time.
Planning Board
The Planning Board eventually approved the special permit unanimously but not after some comment from the public.
Ward 1 City Councilor Stan Moulton came in front of the Planning Board to express his support for the project.
“I think the Planning Department has really come up with a great mixed-use for this parcel,” Moulton said. “Habitat for Humanity is on board for this project.”
Moulton added that the neighborhood around the property is on board for the affordable housing project.
Robert Zimmerman, the president of the Broad Brook Coalition, said it was the right use for the Moose Lodge property but he recommended that the city remove an invasive species called Japanese knotweed near the part where the housing will be built.
“It’s very invasive and likely to spread if not contained now,” Zimmerman said. “It needs to be treated as soon as possible.”
The Planning Board also approved a site plan to turn a parcel in Leeds on Evergreen Road into two family units for affordable housing.