AMHERST — A $1.8 million rehabilitation of the North Common in front of Town Hall, expected to commence in 2023, is receiving a significant influx of federal money.
Town officials announced that the project, in which the Main Street parking lot will be removed and replaced with a plaza and landscaping and existing greenspace will be overhauled, is being supported by an $827,066 Land and Water Conservation Fund grant.
Previously, the Town Council appropriated money for the project from the Community Preservation Act and might have also dipped into the transportation fund.
The Town Council will hold a public forum on the revised spending June 27, the same evening at which it would vote on accepting the grant money.
One condition of the grant, administered by the state on behalf of the National Park Service, is that the.75-acre property, bounded by Main, Spring and South Pleasant streets and best known for being home to the Merry Maple celebration and the weekly peace vigil, be transferred from the care, custody and control of the Town Council to the Recreation Commission.
Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek said this transfer order is a requirement of the grant because state and federal officials want the site to remain as passive recreation, meaning people can walk through it, toss a Frisbee or picnic, but not use it in more intense ways, such as for athletics or building projects.
“Because it’s part of the common and part of the public way, that is how we’ll achieve that, through this order,” Ziomek said.
Ziomek said the project means just two sources of funds are needed, the federal dollars and CPA money.
The final concept for restoring and activating the North Common space, developed by the Department of Public Works, was finalized a year ago, after preliminary designs, for a project at a cost of just under $600,000, were first presented to the then-Select Board in 2017. The current plans include making the site fully handicapped accessible, honoring the history of the common, safeguarding as many trees as possible, addressing severe erosion, and adding adequate lighting, Ziomek said.
“We’re very proud of the design, Planning (Department) and DPW worked together on that,” Ziomek said.
With pressures from inflation and supply chain issues, Ziomek said he expects the finished product to be adequate, but not overly flush.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman said the grant should reduce the likelihood that the town will have to invest more of its own money in the project.
The project, expected to go out to bid later this year for completion by June 2024, has also been supported by business leaders. Amherst Business Improvement District Executive Director Gabrielle Gould praised the project in a statement.
“Returning this area to the people and creating a stunning center of our town continues to build on the many game changers we are striving for to bring Amherst back post-pandemic better, more equitable, and destination-worthy for visitors and residents alike,” Gould said.
Council President Lynn Griesemer said the grant is appreciated.
“I really want to compliment our staff for their amazing efforts to get additional funding for this project,” Griesemer said. “It’s just one more example of how we have some pretty great grant writers around and they’re really working hard to do that.”
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
