Easthampton awarded $4.9 million for water and sewer infrastructure upgrades
The infrastructure upgrade will support the Sierra Vista Commons development and prevent rate increases for residents.
Easthampton will use a $4.9 million MassWorks grant to replace aging water and sewer lines along Northampton Street, enabling the Sierra Vista Commons housing development and opening the Highway Business District to future growth. Governor Maura Healey announced the funding on October 1 as part of a $56 million investment in economic development and housing projects across the Pioneer Valley.
The Sierra Vista Commons project at 93-97 Northampton Street will eventually deliver 202 new housing units, including 54 affordable units, along with mixed-use commercial space. The infrastructure work is necessary for the development to proceed beyond its early phases. Without the state funding, the city would have had to raise water and sewer rates to pay for the upgrades, according to Easthampton Department of Public Works Director Greg Nuttelman.
Nuttelman said Northampton Street has a significant history of water main breaks, particularly near Florence Road. The project will replace all water system infrastructure in that corridor. "Reliable and properly sized water and sewer infrastructure is essential for creating additional new housing units in the city," Nuttelman told The Reminder.
Mayor Salem Derby said the grant allows Easthampton to modernize infrastructure "without putting that cost on the backs of our ratepayers." He credited the Healey-Driscoll administration for supporting the city's development goals.
The work is expected to be completed within the next few years, either ahead of or during a separate MassDOT project to improve the Northampton Street roadway. Easthampton is also receiving an additional $118,800 to update its Housing Production Plan and $185,000 for downtown wayfinding signage.
The funding comes through the Community One Stop for Growth program, which streamlines applications and reviews for state housing and economic development grants. This year's round distributed 89 awards to projects in 42 Pioneer Valley cities and towns. Statewide, the program allocated $330 million through 402 awards to 207 communities, the largest number of communities in a single funding round in the program's history.