Belchertown Master Plan - Belchertown, MA

Urban Design

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MassDevelopment

Since 2013, Form + Place has teamed with MassDevelopment, through a Planning & Permitting House Doctor contract, to help communities identify implementable economic development strategies. These efforts include a master plan designed to unlock the development potential of an 80-acre former state mental institution campus in Belchertown, MA. With limited frontage for viable retail, this new vision for the campus has focused on creating a series of linked public open spaces that highlight the existing natural landscape and capture long views to the surrounding hills. A diverse mix of uses is envisioned, including a continuous care retirement community, multi-family residential and light industrial parcels, in addition to a small town center commercial component. Form + Place produced a series of marketing vignettes that depict a New England architectural vernacular consistent with Belchertown's village core.