The former site of a state mental hospital

The former site of a state mental hospital near downtown Northamp-ton, Massachusetts, will become a new urbanist project called The Village at Hospital Hill. The master plan by Calthorpe Associates envisions a commercial district on the project’s southern fringe with 400,000 square feet of offices, facilities for light industrial firms, and retail. The northern half of the project is surrounded by open space and will have approximately 200 dwellings, ranging from apartments to large-lot estate houses. Gerry Joseph of The Community Builders, the project’s developer, notes that Hospital Hill is the beginning of a transition for the Boston-based firm from isolated housing project construction to community-wide revitalization. The project recently won a strong endorsement from a local citizens advisory committee, and Joseph expects The Community Builders to take title of the site soon. Hospital Hill may break ground in the middle of 2000, and the residential section is expected to have a 5 to 8-year build out, Joseph says.