Amherst Shopping Center owner supports U-Drive overlay district, says Big Y will stay intact

AMHERST — A prominent shopping plaza’s Newton-based owner is pledging to preserve the Big Y Supermarket, CVS Pharmacy, Dunkin’ and other assorted businesses, even if the property is included in a new overlay district aimed at encouraging more residential development.

With concerns from some members of the Town Council about adopting an overlay district that would run the length of University Drive from Route 9 to Amity Street, and might impact the viability of the 165-183 University Drive shopping plaza, the Planning Department recently learned in an email that the company’s intent is to keep intact the Amherst Shopping Center.

“The shopping center is currently 100% occupied and the high-performing tenants, including Big Y and CVS, have long-term leases in place with control of their premises for the next 20 years,” Jonathan Hueber, managing principal for Crosspoint Associates Inc., wrote. “Additionally, the vast majority of the properties that Crosspoint owns and manages are grocery anchored shopping centers similar to the Amherst Shopping Center, and Crosspoint does not intend on diverging from this business model.”

The current rezoning proposal, being reviewed by both the council’s Community Resources Committee and the town’s Planning Board, would set design guidelines and conditions for mixed-use buildings that could rise to 65 feet along the entire length of the road, allowing for six floors, as a way to encourage housing and economic development. Also, under the proposal, 75% of the ground floor space facing University Drive and Northampton Road would have to be non-residential in use.

Crosspoint, the real estate, development and management company, acquired the 11-acre property for $18.5 million in late 2019. Most of the property is in Amherst, though a portion of Big Y is also in Hadley.

The plaza opened in the late 1970s and was entirely rebuilt in 1998, mostly for the expansion of Big Y, which replaced a Price Chopper supermarket three years earlier. The standalone CVS opened at the same time, while the Dunkin’ opened in 2006, a year after a 15,000-square-foot addition was put onto the main building. Other businesses in the plaza include a Goodwill store and a Resonance yoga studio.

Members of the Town Council have worried about whether Big Y might be pushed out in favor housing that could be rented to local college students, a potentially more lucrative enterprise.

Hueber explained that Crosspoint would support the rezoning, even if it would have to work with the largest tenants on making potential residential developments on the site happen.

“We do believe that it is important given the constantly changing face of retail that we have flexibility in the future to add a mixed use component if for some unforeseen reason we sustain any large static vacancy,” Hueber wrote.

District 2 Councilor Pat DeAngelis, who sits on the Community Resources Committee, said at its Dec. 4 hearing on the zoning change that it’s wonderful to receive a letter from Crosspoint that it could benefit from the rezoning. DeAngelis said this reduces her concern about the rezoning possibly compromising residents’ food security, if a supermarket were to close or move from town.

“I think this is an excellent project, and I’m hoping we can move it forward,” DeAngelis said.

District 4 Councilor Jennifer Taub said she is concerned about smaller businesses thriving on University Drive, wondering if there was a way to encourage below market rental rates for commercial tenants to incentivize developers, such as offering taller buildings.

Taub said many of the businesses removed from the downtown Carriage Shops never returned to town when they left to make way for the One East Pleasant mixed-use project. “They were never able to afford the rent and come back to downtown,” Taub said.

Those who spoke at the meeting included Gabriela Horvay of Greenleaves Drive, who praised using University Drive for more housing, so long as Big Y remained.

“People need housing, and this town frequently doesn’t find any place that is acceptable for housing, like apartment housing,” Horvay said.

Martha Hanner of Alyssum Drive said she would like to see University Drive become more student housing, but thought carving out the shopping plaza site, rather than including it, would guarantee a major grocery store and pharmacy for residents.

Christine Brestrup, the town’s retired Planning director, said the hope is allowing more apartments on the street close to the University of Massachusetts campus might encourage UMass to develop more housing along its portion of University Drive, north of Amity Street, in the way UMass did a public-private partnership on Massachusetts Avenue.

The hearing on the zoning change will continue to Dec. 17 at 6:35 p.m.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.