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Date: 1/10/2023
NORTHAMPTON – During a meeting on Jan. 5, the Northampton City Council officially allocated $1 million from the Free Cash account to close a gap for the acquisition of the First Baptist Church building on 298 Main St for potential reuse as the Community Resilience Hub.
The church building, which has been empty for three decades, will cost $3.3 million to acquire, according to the financial order presented at the council meeting.
Background
The First Baptist Church location was chosen after an extensive real estate search and extensive advertising for proposals.
“I am proud to announce a giant leap forward toward realizing a Community Resilience Hub in Northampton. The search for a home for these critical services has been exhaustive, but I believe this building has been worth the wait,” said Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra in a statement. “We will start due diligence immediately. We hope to convert this long-vacant space into Northampton’s Resilience Hub as quickly as possible. I am profoundly excited to repurpose this historically significant building in service for the people of Northampton as a day center with programming and services for vulnerable residents, a community space, and a center for emergency response during times of crisis.”
According to the Mayor’s Office, Northampton has now secured full funding for due diligence, purchase and carrying costs. The city has designated $1.6 million in cannabis mitigation funds, along with $506,872 in Community Development Block Grant funds, a $200,000 gift from Smith College and $53,268 in other donations for the hub project, including the purchase of the building.
The First Baptist Church, which is located between Forbes Library and downtown Northampton, has approximately 14,500 square feet of space and was built in 1904 by the First Baptist Church of Northampton to replace a church that had been destroyed by a fire in 1863.
In 1988, the First Baptist Church congregation merged with the First Congregational Church to create First Churches of Northampton. The building has been vacant since 1993, when it was purchased by a developer and Iron Horse Entertainment Group owner Eric Suher with the intention of turning it into a music venue and catering facility.
Dec. 15 meeting
During the Dec. 15 City Council meeting, Sciarra said that the hub would essentially serve four purposes. It would serve as a day hub for frontline vulnerability members who need certain amenities like showers, lockers, internet and more.
The location would also be a connection hub providing services and support for housing, food security, job-seeking and various recovery services while also acting as a broad community space for meetings or other creative endeavors.
Lastly, the hub would provide crisis response in case of an environmental crisis or other unforeseen emergencies.
“We want this particular building to serve those purposes and do it in a really beautiful and inviting place that people want to use and that reaffirms a feeling of belonging and dignity and community here,” said Sciarra.
The mayor also added that the building will incorporate public health offices from the city’s Department of Health and Human Services. “We are asking a lot of this space, but we believe this building fits the bill,” said Sciarra. “There’s been a huge number of improvements [at First Baptist] that are also really important and valuable for our project.”
During that meeting, Carolyn Misch, the city’s director of Planning & Sustainability, said once the closing occurs, the city will begin the process of hiring a firm for the design and fit-out. According to Misch, construction could take well over a year, however, the city has the option of developing the hub in phases so part of it can at least be occupied.
The appraisal for the building was completed at the beginning of December.