UMass Students Reimagine the Hampshire Mall

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As part of a studio course, students from the landscape architecture and architecture programs have been developing potential plans for re-envisioning the Hampshire Mall, a 33-acre property that in recent years has suffered the loss of many businesses. The course, "Reimagining the Hampshire Mall: Exploring Opportunities for Intergenerational Housing and Community Development," taught by Allyson Fairweather, landscape architecture, and Erica DeWitt, architecture, asked 40 students to consider inventive ways to transform the space to better suit the needs of the community. The class' projects, including a proposal to convert the space into 40 rowhouses and 150 apartments with recreational areas, were recently featured in an article published by the Amherst Bulletin. 

"Hampshire Mall, featured as a case study in this conceptual project, helped articulate ways the town can address the growing need for housing in the region and encourages exploration of the existing zoning bylaws to help achieve those results," says Lynn Gray, general manager of Hampshire Mall. Select Board member Molly Keegan added, "It was exciting to recognize the ways you could transform the property to incorporate housing to meet needs of the town and the master plan."