Recreation Department Director Ann Marie Moggio said the money will help create five multi-purpose fields, a 60-foot baseball diamond and a 90-foot diamond on what is now being called the Florence Fields Recreation Center.
NORTHAMPTON – Hoping to secure a state grant that will cover most of the eventual cost, the City Council will vote on borrowing $757,577 to develop playing fields on the former Bean/Allard property Thursday.
The proposal before the council would authorize the borrowing to create seven playing fields, a playground and other improvements on 24 acres the city has purchased for recreation on the former agricultural land. The parcel is a fraction of the 180 acres once farmed by the Bean and Allard families between Meadow and Spring streets and the Mill River in Florence. In a complicated transaction, the non-profit Trust for Public Land bought the property this year, selling some to the city and some to another non-profit called Grow Food Northampton. Grow Food Northampton is leasing most of its land to local farmers and plans to develop 17 acres as a community garden.
Through this process, the city has been able to achieve its three-fold goal for the property, preserving some for farming, some as conservation land and some for recreation. That last piece has become increasing important in recent years as the demand for playing fields has caused strife between soccer leagues and the Island Road neighborhood where they play.
Northampton has already received a $500,000 Parkland Acquisition and Renovations for Communities grant from the state to help it buy the 24-acre recreation parcel. The proposed borrowing could help the city leverage up to $500,000 more in state money to develop the land for recreational use. According to Planning Director Wayne Feiden, the city must authorize the borrowing to “show the state we’re serious” before applying for the grant.
“We’d probably never borrow that money,” he said.
The Recreation Department has already secured a Community Preservation Act grant for the difference between the state grant and the cost of the borrowing, meaning that there would be no cost to the city should the state funding come through.
Feiden believes that Northampton is well positioned to apply for the state money because it currently ranks first in Massachusetts in the Commonwealth Capital ratings, which assess various quality-of-life factors in handing out grants.
Recreation Department Director Ann Marie Moggio said the money will help create five multi-purpose fields, a 60-foot baseball diamond and a 90-foot diamond on what is now being called the Florence Fields Recreation Center. In addition, the city wants to build a storage facility, a building with toilets, a playground, a pavilion and a concession area. The plan also calls for a bike lane along Meadow Street and a parking area. Construction would include drainage and sprinkler systems, utility and water lines, landscaping, backstops, benches and fencing. Moggio estimated the total cost of the project at $2.5 million.
A non-profit group called Friends of Florence Field has already formed to begin fund-raising for the balance of the project. Moggio said the group is considering selling naming rights to the fields as a source of income. The state grants will be announced in October. Should the city be successful in its application, the recreation area could be ready for use by late 2013 or early 2014, Moggio said.