The smell of mothballs may have been the first thing to stir public reaction, but as the remediation of the former Bay State Gas facility in Northampton continues, city residents look ahead—some with grave reservations—at a proposal to erect a 100-room Hilton hotel just off Pulaski Park.
The unpleasant odor in the downtown area is one of many aspects of the plan for 260 Main Street that have residents speaking up in protest. The property is one of few remaining downtown sites available for development, and is located next to a residential area on New South Street.
Several residents, including Rosa Ibarra and Mary Chapin, expressed concern at a May 29 public hearing over the proximity of the hotel to existing apartments and homes. Current plans would place the hotel 15 feet away from an apartment building. In response to questions by Chapin and Ibarra, Robert Dawson of Russell & Dawson Architects and Engineering, the architectural firm working on the project, responded that the firm was following the parameters set by the city. In fact, the architects took it one step, or rather five steps, further than the city mandated.
The Request for Proposals (RFP) produced by the city states that "any new building shall be located at least 10 feet from any window on the westerly side of the Round House office building." The RFP makes no mention of the fact that the apartment building abutting the proposed hotel on the westerly side has a porch roughly eight feet deep. If the architects had adhered strictly to the city's 10-foot zoning law, the hotel would be two feet from the porch (the building must be 10 feet from the windows), instead of the seven it is now planned to be.
The RFP also states that the Northampton Planning Board must approve the site plan because the board will take into consideration "preserving light and air for surrounding buildings." While it's unclear how much that has actually been taken into consideration, it is clear that the Hilton Garden Inn, if built according to current plans, will stand at 59 feet, 11 inches at its tallest point, making it the second tallest building in the Central Business District (the Academy of Music stands at 67 feet).
The South Street apartments are 40 feet one inch tall. Residents of the apartments and neighboring residents like John and Barbara Hurley, who live across the street from the site, are concerned that the building will obstruct their view of the mountain in the background.
The former height limit in this district was 55 feet. In an October 16, 2006 meeting, the Northampton Committee on Economic Development, Housing and Land Use voted unanimously to allow every building in the district to be 55 feet tall, regardless of its height at the finished rear grade. Northampton Mayor Mary Clare Higgins stated in a September 11, 2006 meeting of that committee that the planning board has been wanting for a year and a half to increase allowable building height in the Central Business District to 65 feet. However, committee minutes from an August 14 meeting suggest that the height hike was proposed to appease the Pioneer Valley Hotel Group. City councilor Paul Spector suggested, "Since the City knows the hotel developers want to build higher than 65 feet, why not move this forward to City Council?"
Another concern of residents is the suitability of the hotel's design. In the RFP, the only clause related to the appearance of the building is found in the terms of sale: "The façade facing Main Street must be of red brick exterior finish." In a June 7 City Council meeting, Mary Kasper was one of two Northampton residents who expressed dissatisfaction with the design of the building, calling the city to task for not being more involved in the process and not including more design requirements in the RFP. "The hotel's just too big and too institutional-looking and, I'm afraid, will dominate the site," says Kasper.
As of press time, four out of nine Northampton city councilors had responded to the Advocate's question of whether or not they had seen the final plans for the hotel. All four had not.
Yet another concern with the project is the impact it will have on Pulaski Park, which will become in effect the front entrance to the hotel. While the city states that Pulaski Park is going to be expanded and improved, that, like the assertion that this hotel is an example of smart growth in Northampton, remains to be seen. "
—kthurlow@valleyadvocate.com
