UMass Design Building looking west
Since the largest landowners in Amherst are our tax exempt educational institutes with Amherst College #1, UMass #2 and Hampshire College #3, it's no big surprise that most of the current construction projects are taking place there.
Amherst College Greenway Dorms
Amherst College new Science Center
But all these new buildings will be protected by Amherst Fire Department, and they have been at the understaffed breaking point for far too many years now.
Crotty Hall from North Plasant Street
Crotty Hall from the side
UMass Physical Sciences Building
Hitchcock Center new living building on Hampshire College campus
However there is some (housing development) taking place that will go on the tax rolls:
Olympia Place five story luxurious dorms built by private developer
Unlike Townehouse Apartments, courtyards are tiny
Not going to fit 1,000 plus in there
Townehouse Apartments west quad April 24th
Hawthorne Farm affordable duplex
Part of a $3 Billion expansion by UMass, those buildings will be filled by lots of people with good paying jobs. Who will spend that money here, able to afford the new housing that we, oops, didn't build because Town Meeting couldn't understand zoning regulations. So we didn't pass them. Why can't zoning laws be written in plain English that we can understand? With references and color coding to all the underlying state building, health, and fire regulations? And nice pictures to illustrate modern building practices instead of so many long words? It's all so scary, there are too many scary words, like "parking". If they just left "parking" out, it would be so much easier to understand.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I agree with Pioneer on this one, UMass can;t afford this -- Well, UM can but neither the students nor state can.
ReplyDeleteHoly cow! That's a huge amount of tax money the town will never see.
ReplyDeleteYep. Half of all the property in Amherst is off the tax rolls.
ReplyDeleteAre architects on strike? Olympia Place has to take last place for looks, but has many close companions among these buidings.
ReplyDeleteNever been inside 'em, but Olympia takes the cake for being super hideous.
DeleteEd,
ReplyDeleteThe Pionner Institute is a think tank dedicated to free markets and limited government. State run universities don't exactly play into their agenda. No bias there...
UMass has positioned themselves to expand and become a higher quality institution in better standing among a competitive regional and national landscape. They've taken advantage of low financing rates to build out the campus, it is a responsible plan.
9:57 -- Did you bother to read the bio on the man who wrote the report, or what he stated that the purpose of public higher education ought to be?
ReplyDeleteYour second paragraph reminds me of what hacks like you wrote about the football mistake.
Larry
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/08/03/gregory-sullivan-crusading-inspector-general-calls-career/zvs1lkCmyxWmtlVgPrwZbO/story.html
I can't believe we all helped pay for ed's useless education!
ReplyDelete