Guest columnist Alex Kahn: Letter: King Street: Deciding the future of the gateway to Northampton

Next month, the Northampton Planning Board will consider a proposal to develop the large lot next to Foster Farrar Hardware, vacant since 2014, as a Volvo dealership. Cosenzi Auto Group, which already sells Volvos on Damon Road (as well as Hyundais and Volkswagens on King Street, and Nissans in Hadley), is proposing to take this paved lot and turn it into their new Volvo dealership.

This section of King Street was zoned in 2022 as “Central Business District: Gateway” to encourage mixed-use development, with multi-story buildings combining shops and housing above. The scale of such buildings and their placement close to the sidewalk is meant to signal to motorists that they are leaving “car-land” and heading toward an engaging and thriving downtown.

Since a car dealership is not allowed in the gateway district by right, Cosenzi must seek a special permit from the Planning Board. While on paper the proposed plan may satisfy some of the zoning requirements for the district (low building setback, pedestrian accommodations, wheelchair accessibility), a car dealership does little to help meet the needs of the city and the neighborhood. And despite the landscaping planned for the site, the result will be a heat island dotted with trees. The project won’t add appreciably to the city’s tax revenue, as it is replacing Cosenzi’s existing Volvo dealership on Damon Road.

Why is this large lot — in a prime location, walkable to downtown; with direct access to the bikeway; close to I-91, schools and shopping — still empty after all these years?

Soil contamination from its 20th-century industrial use, and the cost of its remediation, has so far turned developers away. But this is exactly the place where the city should be putting into practice its goals from the 2021 Sustainable Northampton Comprehensive Plan: to increase housing density, to promote walkable neighborhoods, and to mitigate climate change.

Back in 2011, the city’s Strategic Housing Plan laid out the need for more affordable housing. Northampton has long been more expensive to live in than neighboring towns, but since the pandemic, home prices and rents have gone sky-high. Increasing the supply of housing is more urgent than ever.

Some will argue that any development is better than the eyesore of the empty lot; that we should be thankful that someone, anyone, is investing; that because of the chemicals in the ground, this is our best or only option. But we can do better, and we must not shut the door on that possibility.

We should capitalize on the momentum built by the King Street Corridor redesign and realize the vision of this neighborhood as a gateway to the city. To the Planning Board: Remember our goals. Keep open the possibility of a more vibrant King Street. Reject the car dealership plan.

Alex Kahn lives in Northampton.