AMHERST — The last vacant parcel on University Drive could become a mixed-use development, but such a project may depend on whether town officials can grant a new entry point to the site.

Amherst developer Barry Roberts is considering a construction project on the 5.79-acre site owned by Mohammad Idrees, of Orlando, Florida. But Town Meeting must first grant the Select Board a limited release of a 54-year-old covenant that caps the number of access points to the roadway at six.

Roberts said he is holding off on hiring an architect until Town Meeting makes a determination.

Situated between the Newmarket Center shopping center to the north and an office building at 100 University Drive to the south, the land has a complicated history that has left it exclusively for agricultural purposes for nearly 15 years.

A failed 2010 rezoning attempt would have allowed construction of 44 units of affordable senior housing at the rear of the property, and a combination of commercial and residential units at the front.

Last spring, though, Town Meeting agreed to rezone the parcel from office park to limited business, owing to a plan from a Virginia developer to construct student townhouses. In October, the Select Board gave up its right of first refusal for the property to allow Idrees to sell the farmland to Orion Student Housing LLC for $660,000.

But that transaction never went through.

The restriction on access points holding up Roberts’ present concept dates to 1963, when the Kentfield family gave the land that would become University Drive to the town. The rationale behind the limitation was based on a vision to create a four-lane boulevard with a tree-lined median extending from Amity Street to Route 9, according to Thomas Reidy, an attorney with Bacon Wilson of Amherst who represents Roberts.

University Drive was supposed to serve as the main artery to the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus, as well as connect to South Pleasant Street by skirting the Amherst Golf Course. Like the boulevard concept, it never came to fruition.

Because these plans changed over time, Roberts said, it made sense for Town Meeting to give the Select Board limited release from the covenant. Roberts said he doesn’t believe providing a new means of access to the property would prove detrimental.

Even without this change, Roberts said the property can be reached through the Newmarket Center shopping plaza. But this would require crossing more wetlands.

Any new entrance to the land would affect the Swift Way Connector, the path that brings cyclists and pedestrians from the Norwottuck Rail Trail to the UMass campus. Roberts said he already is in talks with Department of Public Works officials about how to mitigate the issue.

Roberts said he and Reidy also are meeting with town governmental bodies, including the Select Board, Finance Committee, Conservation Commission, Public Shade Tree Committee and Transportation Advisory Committee.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com

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