EASTHAMPTON — A 53-acre plot of land at 385 Main St. along the Manhan River is being eyed as an opportunity to address two hot issues at once: land conservation and affordable housing.
The initiative, called Growing Green: Easthampton, is being led by the Kestrel Land Trust and is a collaboration between the city, Mass Audubon, and the affordable housing nonprofit The Community Builders.
“There’s a growing conversation in the national land trust community about how to basically have conservation serve more people in different ways more equitably,” said Mark Wamsley, conservation director at Kestrel Land Trust. “The issue of affordable housing has certainly come up as part of that.”
The property is currently listed in the city’s Open Space & Recreation Plan as being worthy of protecting, as well as being cited in the city’s Housing Production Plan as being an opportunity for increasing the availability of housing.
Plus, in 2021, two anonymous donors gave Kestrel a $530,000 gift to explore mutually supporting conservation and affordable housing projects in Easthampton.
“It was an opportune time to see if those two common goods could come together,” Wamsley said.
The project case statement says that “if left on the open market, the property would almost certainly see a sprawling, market-rate residential housing development with extensive disturbance pushing into buffering forest along the river.”
Kestrel has the 53-acre property under contract for purchase, with plans to conserve 42 acres of fields, forest and farmland, while developing affordable rental units on 11 acres alongside the road.
“This project is what a mayor hopes for for housing in their city,” said Mayor Nicole LaChapelle. “Something that conserves land, something that bring high-quality housing and really deep environmentally conscious housing for those who have the most housing insecurity.”
Around 35% of the land is made up of meadows and hayfield with prime farmland soils, and the remaining 65% of the property is upland and riparian forest.
The parcel is one of the largest undeveloped pieces of land that is not conserved along the Manhan River corridor, making it an appealing area for conservation groups.
“The Manhan is a very important tributary of the Connecticut [River] for wildlife, and it contributes to the drinking water supply in Easthampton,” Wamsley said. “It’s productive agricultural land … The opportunity to really protect as many of those resources as we can, and really importantly, to buffer and protect the Manhan River is key.”
Riverside buffers are important for ecosystems because the trees and shrubs control erosion, decrease contamination and pollution, and provide habitat to wildlife.
Moreover, because the property is situated nearby other protected land — including Pomeroy Conservation Area and Whittemore Conservation Area — “it doubled the impact” of environmental benefits, Wamsley said.
That’s because contiguous conservation areas provide wildlife with more extensive habitat and greater ability to migrate and adapt.
Beyond conservation of ecologically important land, affordable housing is an integral goal.
“We’re trying to be more equitable in our work and have conservation serve more people, and this is a really interesting way to do it,” said Wamsley. “I think the real innovation in the approach is we’re not just looking to have affordable housing and conservation next to each other and separate, but we’re really trying to plan both of them together from the ground up.”
The development will support up to 90 affordable rental units across three buildings, available to those earning less than the median income in the area.
“You can walk out your back door and have 26 acres to explore, with just dynamic wildlife that takes you to the beautiful Manhan River … It’s otherworldly,” LaChapelle said. “It’s really where more projects need to be right now for us to really effectuate carbon reduction.”
The property has views of Pomeroy Mountain and Mount Tom, active agriculture, open fields, and will likely have walking trails.
As for next steps, LaChapelle said the city is already thinking about its role in improving public infrastructure near the potential project, which would likely involve grant applications and informing the public.
For Kestrel, next steps include “getting the community conversation going” and applying for Community Preservation Act funding to acquire the property, Wamsley said.
“This kind of environment with the views and the access to open space, unfortunately, is too often restricted to only wealthier communities,” said Wamsley. “To be able to open that up for more people… the health and well-being aspects of that will really be felt.”
Maddie Fabian can be reached at mfabian@gazettenet.com.