Deerfield seeks proposals for senior housing at former St. James Church

SOUTH DEERFIELD — Bidders interested in building senior housing are invited to tour the former St. James Church property at 85 North Main St. on Wednesday, April 15, the latest step forward in a longstanding effort to convert the parcel into a place for seniors to live.

“This goes back years,” said Lili Dwight, chair of the Ad Hoc Senior Housing Committee, adding with a laugh, “When I started this, I kept talking about the ‘old people.’ Now I’m talking about me and my buddies.”

According to Dwight, when the committee formed in 2021, the idea of a “municipal campus” emerged. With Deerfield Town Hall, Tilton Library, the 1888 Building and Frontier Regional School all within walking distance in the center of town, the campus encompasses this string of town-owned buildings.

“You have a dynamic community center that connects all these different activities,” she said.

Later on, while taking a walk in town, one of Dwight’s friends mentioned the former St. James Church property owner’s plans to sell the parcel, and a light bulb went off in Dwight’s mind. With a location within the municipal campus and minutes away from nearby businesses, the spot seemed like a perfect fit for senior housing, Dwight said.

“They can walk to the library, they can walk to Town Hall, they can go to the market, they can go to restaurants,” Dwight said of the property’s potential future residents.

At the 2023 Annual Town Meeting, residents appropriated $420,000 in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds to purchase the property for senior housing. Deerfield is seeking a developer to create up to 60 apartments for adults ages 62 and older on the 2.1-acre lot, with all units affordable to households at or below 80% of the area median income, according to the request for proposals (RFP). Proposals are due June 4.

Dwight said the ideal development would have a “cottage-y” look and “fit the character of the heart of Deerfield.”

According to Deerfield’s Planning and Economic Development Coordinator Alexandria Galloway, increasing affordable senior housing is “an initiative that is well-supported” in Deerfield. In surveys this year for a study asking residents to list preferred housing projects, residents’ calls for senior housing “almost 100% rose to the top,” she said.

“The goal is to keep our older citizens in the heart of our community where they can continue to participate and volunteer, since so many of us who volunteer are members of the gray hair clan,” Dwight said.

Beyond giving older residents a place to age without leaving town, new senior housing options would also draw families to Deerfield as older residents downsize out of large, old homes, and the large single-family homes would become available for new residents, Galloway said.

“It has a huge cascading effect,” Dwight said, adding that senior housing also boosts local economies because older residents pay property taxes without attending the public schools. “Senior housing fixes a lot of things.”

Although Dwight said there is a “need and demand” for senior housing, she added that she has heard opposition from other residents and she anticipates a long road ahead. According to the RFP, the town estimates a contract with a developer to be finalized in August.

“I remain ever hopeful, and every time we hit a stumbling block, we find a way around it. That’s how our committee works. … We do not give up,” Dwight said. “Our older adults are valuable, vibrant members of our community, and they need us to step up and make sure that they can stay in the community, and housing is huge to do that.”