North Common Renovation Project Pauses for the Winter
Architect's rendition of a renovated North Common. Photo: amherstma.gov
Source: amherstma.gov
Work on the Amherst North Common has made considerable progress this fall. The North Common – that section of the Town Common that lies between Main and Spring Streets – is being renovated to be a more welcoming, actively used space in the center of downtown Amherst. Work on the project will stop for the winter but will resume as soon as the weather breaks in the spring. The project is projected to be completed by June 30, 2024.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman said, “The North Common is the most prominent location in the town of Amherst, holding space at the main intersection downtown. For years, the space was used to park cars. The renovation will transform the downtown experience for residents and visitors alike.” Bockelman added, “Like the popular new playground in Kendrick Park, the new North Common will be a welcoming space in the center of Amherst. People will want to spend time downtown meeting up with friends, enjoying a treat from a restaurant, or relaxing with good read from one of our independent bookstores or the Jones Library.”
Years of careful planning after gathering community input led to a plan that makes the space more welcoming to the public, including ADA-compliant walkways, and provides space for community gatherings and events. This plan has full support from the Greater Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce and the Amherst Business Improvement District (BID).
The design includes gracious ADA accessible walkways, small seating areas that promote social gatherings, large open spaces for community gatherings, new plantings, and a more open feel throughout the green space. A variety of smaller gathering spaces will be spread throughout the Common to encourage people to linger and enjoy downtown.
Over the years, the North Common has been heavily used for different activities: ceremonies to honor veterans, peace vigils for 45 years, celebrations, protests, and occasional performances. A working group was formed in 2018, comprised of members from the Amherst Historical Commission, the Recreation Commission (formerly referred to as the LSSE Commission), and Town of Amherst staff, to host public meetings and solicit input from the community on ideas for improvements to the North Common area which was sorely in need of attention. The timeline for the project was delayed due to COVID 19 shutdowns. Construction began in the Fall of 2023.
The work will include new walkways around the perimeter of the North Common as well as a new bus stop on Main Street. A large plaza is planned along Boltwood Avenue in front of Town Hall for gatherings and events. The interior of the common will have eight-foot-wide walkways as well as a large central seating area with tables. The walkway system also incorporates small circular and semi-circular sitting areas with benches and a new interpretive area for the relocated Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) fountain. The two existing flag poles will be retained and relocated on the site.
The design also incorporates a sloping lawn area west of Town Hall behind the plaza that is terraced with multiple granite seating walls. This lawn area replaces the parking lot and is envisioned as an active community space. Additional site improvements include new benches, tables, trash receptacles, bus shelter, bike share station, and site lighting. Landscaping features include improved storm water management with small rain gardens and ground cover, street trees along Main Street, as well as flowering trees and shrubs within the Common.
The roadway work will reconstruct a portion of Main Street, South Pleasant Street, and Boltwood Avenue and abutting sidewalks. Boltwood Avenue will be redirected one-way heading south, and its length in front of Town Hall will be transformed into a raised plaza that can be closed to traffic for events. The remaining section of Boltwood Avenue along the North Common will have parallel parking on the east and west sides and new sidewalks on both sides.
The North Common is the northernmost section of the original historic common in Amherst’s town center and is just over an acre in size. It is a portion of the public right-of-way in the town center, located north of Spring Street and south of Main Street. The North Common continues to be used as a public common and is managed by the Department of Public Works, with oversight by the Amherst Historical Commission, under the broad jurisdiction of the Town Council.
The North Common Improvement Project is funded by local Community Preservation Act dollars as well as a Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant. The project focuses on the renovation of the existing North Common with a design that accommodates formal and informal activities as well as promotes pedestrian connections, providing fully ADA compliant amenities, improves existing site drainage, provides new street and lighting, and enhanced site plantings.
The final concept for this restoration and re-activation of the space has been put forth by the Department of Public Works. The DPW is also overseeing the project work which is being done by the Caracas Construction Corporation from Ludlow, Massachusetts.
Look here for the most recent schematic drawing and more construction details.
I am excited that the fountain is going to be a part of the new North Common. To have this site be a place for parked cars makes about as much sense as it does for the proposed Jones Library addition to have a mechanized book sorting machine in the historic Library Director’s office.
One might try to imagine a “historic Library Director” — and one might even imagine a Library Director being “made historic” by the action of such a contraption while in office! — but what I’d like to imagine along with Hetty, Dorothy, and thousands of other Amherst residents, is to stop imagining that a mechanized book sorting machine is a worthwhile investment, and to keep the historic office — all the other historic components of the Jones Library — just as they are: with sensitive restoration, not senseless destruction….