AMHERST — A cake shop and a coffee roastery opening at the North Square at the Mill District in the coming weeks are vital components for making the mixed-use development a more vibrant community and gathering spot in North Amherst.

“We’re really excited to be at a critical mass of occupancy of commercial space now,” says Cinda Jones, president of W.D. Cowls Inc., which is responsible for filling the 22,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space that is part of a project, opened in 2021, that includes 130 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, 26 of which are permanently affordable.

“When Futura (Coffee Roaster) and Carefree Cakery open, this will be a very different place,” Jones said.

The former sawmill site on Cowls Road, developed over the past six years, has been ready for commercial tenants, but the pandemic has posed challenges in getting businesses established, even though the existing Mill District General Store and the art gallery, where more than 30 local artists have works displayed and for sale, The Closet clothing store and Balanced Birch pilates studio, as well as the Provisions store in the Cow Barn, have all become mainstays.

For Arthur Haskins, vice president of real estate and community development, the strategy for getting more storefronts filled is not only to have a variety of shops that provide each other synergy, but also making it a place where people, both those who live there and those coming from elsewhere, will hang out.

“Our big focus is on having people spend time in the district,” Haskins said.

To that end, North Square continues to have attractions, from a playground with ceramic and plaster farm animals along Cowls Road to a recently unveiled large pink wall, with a pink frame in front, where people can pose for selfies and portraits. Not surprisingly, this has been popular with the release of the Barbie motion picture, Jones said, and promoting female empowerment.

There are also the Cars and Coffee events, with classic autos, the third Sunday of each month, with the next scheduled for Aug. 20 from 9 a.m. to noon.

The latest businesses to open will be Carefree Cakery, with its first day scheduled for Tuesday and its grand opening Aug. 12, and Futura Coffee Roasters, likely to follow by September.

On Nov. 1, the hope is to have Provisions, which came to the stand-alone Cow Barn in 2020, relocate to space that is being built out specifically for it, right at the edge of Cowls Road and across from the mixed-use Trolley Barn that houses The Lift salon and Cisco’s Cafe.

At Carefree Cakery, owner Alysia Bryant and Veronica Lawrence, the shop’s cake decorator, are continuing to prepare for the opening that will have scratch celebratory cakes, creative cupcakes with 18 flavors, and cheesecakes, cookies and brownies, all with gluten free and vegan options and using fairtrade certified vanilla and chocolate.

“Any sculpted cake, any kind of dessert, is what we do,” Bryant said.

Bryant left a corporate job managing a local paint store to pursue her dreams. “It’s been a labor of love,” Bryant said.

Next door, the build out of Futura is nearing completion. Haskins said this will have a menu featuring high quality coffee drinks and breakfast items.

“I think it will be a new level of refinement for coffee and offerings in Amherst,” Haskins said.

“It’s the best coffee you will ever have,” Jones said.

Though the North Amherst Library is operating out of North Square until the branch reopens later this summer or early fall, when the expansion of that historic building in North Amherst center is complete, that will create another vacancy.

Illustrating the challenges of the times, other unfilled spots include a 900-square-foot storefront where Graze Craze, which sold charcuterie boards and boxes, closed after only a few months. Other empty spots have 1,600 square feet and 4,500 square feet.

“We’d love a grocer,” Haskins said of that larger spot. “That’s what were aiming for in that space.”

But there is confidence in the future, too. Haskins said that Provisions is taking 4,600 square feet that is tailored to its needs.

“They’ve been a really great partner,” Haskins said.

The new space includes an event room where Provisions can do sessions on wine pairings, special vendors can set up and classes can be held on wine. “This will be a more adaptive space for their needs,” Haskins said.

When Provisions vacates its current space, which originally opened as a satellite Atkins Farms Country Market, a microbrewery and pub could locate in that building.

Andrea Marion opened The Closet in the April 2022, as a curated clothing boutique, with mostly secondhand clothes, but carrying independent labels, some local designers, and some high-end designs. The idea was to fill a gap in western Massachusetts, Marion said.

“I got interested in things that you might not necessarily be able to find anywhere else in this area,” Marion said.

The 200 new pieces a month are joined by items she searches for on behalf of people’s styles and needs. The Closet is designed to be a community space, Marion said, and a safe space for all genders.

Jones said she is looking to possibly create an ice cream parlor, as well, though the specifics of other possible commercial development are not yet known. At one time, she described her vision as bringing back “the old American downtown” in the North Square, as it joined other parts of the Mill District that encompasses portions of Montague Road, including the Riverside Park Shopping Plaza and Riverside Park Apartments, and Sunderland Road, where Cowls Building Supply and The Harp Irish Pub, are located.

“Art is working really hard, but we don’t yet know about the next phase,” Jones said.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.

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