NORTHAMPTON — City officials are heralding a new partnership with one of the region’s leading social service agencies as a key development for the future success of a long-held vision to open a Resilience Hub downtown.

The city recently announced that Clinical and Support Options (CSO) will be the new lead agency overseeing the work of the Resilience Hub. The Northampton-based nonprofit behavioral and mental health agency, which provides therapy, counseling, and other programs in western Massachusetts, could one day offer a variety of its services from space inside the Resilience Hub, as well as at a new office the agency is building in the Northampton Industrial Park.

But before that can happen, the city and CSO will work together to raise money to rehabilitate the inside of the former First Baptist Church at the corner of West and Main streets.

CSO spokesperson Geoffrey Oldmixon said that “it makes perfect sense” for CSO to manage the Hub’s next phase given its presence in the community.

CSO already runs the city’s existing shelter at 91 Grove St. Over a dozen local communities in Hampshire and Franklin counties utilize CSO-trained clinicians who work alongside police officers. CSO also offers its Crisis Program as a local alternative emergency hotline to 911.

Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra wrote in a statement that the city’s partnership with CSO “allows us to pursue the financial resources needed for both programmatic and infrastructural development,” and “brings the capacity to access funding sources not available to the city.”

Investment necessary

Exact figures for what it will cost to finish the interior work for the Hub are still being worked out, and will reflect the needs of the agencies and programs that will occupy space there, as well as its use as a climate shelter, community center and home for the Division of Community Care, the mayor said.

Sciarra wrote that “To fully realize the city’s vision ... some investment is necessary,” and is “essential for creating a welcoming, functional environment” in the space, which is expected to open in late 2025.

“While all the particulars are being worked on with our partners, we are pursuing federal and state funding, and CSO will be exploring additional avenues of funding for the build out,” Sciarra wrote. “Now that CSO is our new partner, we owe them the opportunity to weigh in on what is most needed in the space.”

The city bought the 14,500-square-foot former church at 298 Main St. in June 2023 for $3.175 million from Eric Suher, with the aim of converting it into the Hub, a place for those suffering from chronic or emergency shelter situations.

Some residents have raised concerns about the financial demand the space has placed on taxpayers. In recent weeks, a Boston real estate brokerage hired by a group of Northampton residents appraised the property and concluded that the city overpaid for the old church by as much as $1.5 million. Sciarra said at the time that the city used its own local brokerage to appraise the property, with site visits, and that she stands behind the purchase.

Others are questioning what it will cost to build out the space, and why other sites, such as the former Registry of Deeds building on King Street, were not considered. The mayor, however, has said in the past that the city evaluated all possible downtown properties that could potentially meet the needs of the Hub, including making an offer on a different downtown building in 2021.

In the fall of 2022, the chance to acquire the former church arose and the city acted on it because the space and location meet the needs defined by the Hub working group, she said earlier this summer.

Money to buy the building came from a variety of sources, including $1.4 million from cannabis community impact fees, $1 million in federal COVID dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act, $535,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant money, and $234,000 in gifts and donations.

‘Unifying services’

Sciarra views the Hub as key to Northampton’s economic future.

“The Hub represents a decade-long vision for unifying services in a way that helps people efficiently and holistically,” she stated. “The business community understands that when we help people, we relieve economic pressures ... This is about addressing societal inequities while strengthening our local economy.”

The mayor describes the current status of the building as, “structurally sound ... with significant upgrades already in place, like insulation, electrical, and plumbing including up-to-code commercial kitchen infrastructure.”

Once open, the Hub will serve as a multipurpose center providing a range of community services, including as a shelter for the homeless population and during climate emergencies. It will also provide a regular meeting space and serve as headquarters for several community agencies, including the Division of Community Care.

Plans call for the first floor, located in the basement of the building, to host the Hub’s kitchen and dining room, with the main second floor being a large community hall area. Offices for organizations such as the Division of Community Care will be on the third floor.

The community hall area currently features an elevated stage that was placed there by Suher, the building’s former owner, who had planned to turn the space into a banquet hall and performance center before ultimately abandoning those plans. City officials said during a public tour in May that they were still unsure whether the stage would be included in the final version of the center.

CSO replaces Community Action Pioneer Valley as the lead agency of the Hub’s development, though the Greenfield organization will remain part of the future plans. Sciarra thanked Community Action and Manna Kitchen for “laying a strong foundation” since the city began partnering with the organizations on the project in 2020.

As the lead agency for the last four years, Community Action worked to institute an interim Resilience Hub and helped in procuring Jones Whitsett Architects for the renovation of the former church. The mayor thanked them for their work during the pandemic, which “allowed the city to focus on emergency housing solutions, further highlighting their adaptability and commitment to Northampton’s most vulnerable residents,” and will continue to partner in a more limited role.

“CSO, CAPV, and others will work side by side to ensure the Hub is the powerful, coordinated resource our city needs,” wrote the mayor.

Once the building is built out, the city will formally procure a permanent partner to manage its services.

“This measured approach ensures we are fiscally responsible while moving forward with a project that addresses some of the city’s most pressing needs,” the mayor stated, noting that at the moment “our first priority is to get the ground floor operational, where the core services of the Resilience Hub will be located.”

Samuel Gelinas can be reached at sgelinas@gazettenet.com.