ATHOL – Industrial development. Outdoor recreation. Elderly housing. Mixed income housing.

These are just a few of the ideas brought forward at a public meeting held Tuesday night at Athol Public Library to discuss uses for the town-owned Bidwell property. The site is 100 acres of fields and woodlands that stretches between South Athol and Chase roads. About 50 people showed up to offer proposals and in some cases, express concern over some suggestions.

Town Manager Shaun Suhoski told the audience, “the Bidwell place was on the back burner until last November, when the goal from the Board of Selectmen was for my office to engage the community. Instead of us telling you what the goal is there, you tell us what should happen at the site.”

David Small, president of the Athol Bird & Nature Club and member of the town’s Open Space and Recreation Committee, provided an overview of the parcel’s natural assets, as well as the barn that occupies a spot at the corner of South Athol and Partridgeville roads.

“It’s not an historic building as such, but it has potential,” he said. “It’s an old building from the 1850s. It’s got a slate roof, and it’s a beautiful structure. So if we do some recreational things in the future, maybe that will play a major role.

“We’re going to talk about open space and other aspects of how we might have multiple things going on at the property at the same time. It doesn’t have to be all one thing or all of another.”

Aaron Nelson, project manager for Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, discussed “some of the conservation values that – when Mount Grace is looking at a property, or the Conservation Commission is looking at a property – we’re trying to assess the things that we really want to preserve about that property and how that might inform it’s whole protection or, as Dave was mentioning, some of the other development scenarios where you have mixed-use.”

One of the proposals put forward, Nelson said, is development of the Rabbit Run rail trail, which runs through the property. The old rail bed stretches from the Quabbin Reservoir north through the South Athol Conservation Area, the Bidwell property, and on to downtown Athol. Nelson and town officials have been looking at the feasibility of repurposing the rail bed, which he said is in good condition.

The Bidwell property could also be used to help the town address one of its most pressing problems, said Sarah Lyman of Hometown LAER Realtors.

“It’s critically important over the next 10 to 15 years that we find a way to have affordable housing here for the people who want to stay here,” she said. “And I don’t mean giant complexes; I mean homes where people can come, work in this community, and still be able to afford to live and stay here. Being able to come up with ways for developers to develop our land and still have beautiful green spaces and have it be affordable for them is a discussion the community needs to have.”

Lyman added that she would like to see some portion of the land be used for senior housing, something the town lacks.

“There are people 50 to 70 years old who want to stay in this community, but they can’t figure out how to afford to stay in this community the way property taxes are going, or with the costs associated with updating and maintaining a single-family home these days,” said Lyman.

Lyman said younger workers who are moving to Athol as the job market has expanded are also in need of housing, but can’t do that when the average sale price is approximately $325,000.

Athol Economic Development and Industrial Corporation Chair Keith McGuirk explained that any proposals for commercial, industrial and institutional uses would require changes to the zoning. The Bidwell property, he said, is located in the Residential C zone. Any proposed zoning change would need be approved first by Town Meeting voters and then by state officials.

Peter Gerry, founder of Pete’s Tire Barn, cautioned that proposals for affordable or mixed-income housing need to take into consideration the potential impact of new families on the school system, public safety and other municipal services.

Following a preliminary discussion, the meeting broke into working groups to allow everyone in attendance the chance to discuss potential uses for the property in more detail. Proposals raised in those groups will be forwarded to officials and the town’s consultant, BSC Group, to consider as the planning process moves forward.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.

]]>