Amherst Strives to Take Advantage of Its Many Assets

Community Spotlight

Jeff Bagg says Amherst is well-stocked with assets as it goes about competing with other area communities for the dollars spent by visitors.

Jeff Bagg says he’s come full circle. Sort of.

He graduated from UMass Amherst back in 2002 and then worked for the town of Amherst as senior planner from 2008 to 2016. But now, after gaining different types of experience in various settings, he’s back in Town Hall, serving as director of Planning & Economic Development, a melding of two roles.

He started in December and has spent the past four months getting reacquainted with a community that is in a seemingly constant state of motion, but with challenges and opportunities that have been present for decades.

“I knew a lot about the town of Amherst, but it had been 10 years since I last worked there, so there was a learning curve,” said Bagg, who is involved in several initiatives at present, from a project to set new design standards for the downtown to a study of the East Amherst area with an eye toward creating core commercial development opportunities, to the collection of data to be used in creation of the town’s first economic development plan in several years.

“What we have available is pre-pandemic, and there have been really big shifts in the way people spend their money,” he said of that last initiative. “Knowing that businesses need a strong customer base and foot traffic, we really need to figure out ways to bring more residents out and visitors in, and the data drives a lot of that.”

“Knowing that businesses need a strong customer base and foot traffic, we really need to figure out ways to bring more residents out and visitors in, and the data drives a lot of that.”

These are just some of the many converging storylines in Amherst, a community that those we spoke with said is a college town, but so much more. Others include:

• Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, which continues to grow membership and become ever more diverse — Executive Director Jacob Robinson said the chamber added 57 new members in 2025, roughly double the number welcomed in 2023 and the years prior — and build new events into the schedule, including a revitalized business expo;

• A Business Improvement District (BID) that is working with the chamber and individual businesses to make the community a true destination year round;

• The ongoing success story that is the Drake, a downtown live-performance venue that is planning 200 nights of performances for 2026 involving 500 artists from both the 413 and around the globe and more than 33,000 audience members, many of whom will support other hospitality-related businesses before and after those shows;

• The ongoing saga of Hampshire College, which has been fighting for survival in recent years amid declining enrollment and continuing fiscal hardship. That fight took a new twist recently when the New England Commission of Higher Education announced late last month that it will require the school to show cause in June as to why it shouldn’t be placed on probation or have its accreditation withdrawn over concerns the college may no longer be meeting the organization’s institutional resources standard; and

• Continued evolution of the community’s downtown, including several new businesses, the owners of which told BusinessWest there is a rhythm to the downtown, one dictated by the calendar, which takes some getting used to (much more on this later).

For this latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, we take an in-depth look at one of the more intriguing communities in the region — one marked by learning of all types.

Developing Story

Bagg brings a diverse résumé to his new position in Amherst. Indeed, after his stint as senior planner there, he served as project manager for the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission before beginning what would become a six-year stint as director of Planning and Economic Development in Easthampton and then serving as senior planner for the BSC Group in Worcester.

He described his new role as a “good fit” and an opportunity to return to the public sector — in a community where change is a constant.

“I’ve been working in many different communities in Massachusetts, and more and more towns have increased their efforts to attract visitors; it’s an intense competition for people’s time and limited disposable income.”

Like others we spoke with, he said Amherst has both a number of assets and … let’s call them liabilities.

In that first category, he started with the obvious, the three colleges that provide the community with its distinct flavor — Amherst College, UMass Amherst, and Hampshire College — but also its many cultural attractions, ranging from the Emily Dickinson Museum and the Eric Carle Museum to the Drake and Amherst Cinema, which make it more than your typical college down.

John Page says downtown Amherst is in a seemingly constant state of change and is always welcoming new businesses.

On the downside, this can be a difficult town to do business in, and Bagg acknowledged this with a comment intended to be diplomatic.

“We have a very engaged community, but there is some lack of agreement on where new growth should happen. Amherst struggles with its vision for the future and an identity that we can get most people to agree to,” he said, adding that town officials are making it a priority to make it easier to do business in town, such as with the hiring of a permit administrator to facilitate the process of setting up shop there.

Which brings him back to the economic development plan, and the collection of data that will help drive it.

“What we don’t have a good handle on is where people are spending their money — we don’t know where residents are spending their money, we don’t know where visitors spend their money when they come here, and how all that relates to demographics — population changes, the age of people coming and going, those are factors for what’s going to drive new businesses in Amherst, and we don’t really have a handle on that.

“I’ve been working in many different communities in Massachusetts, and more and more towns have increased their efforts to attract visitors; it’s an intense competition for people’s time and limited disposable income,” he went on, adding that this competition is one of myriad factors that will go into the development of an economic development plan over the next year or so.

Overall, the community is well-suited to succeed in this competition to attract visitors, said John Page, executive director of the Amherst BID, adding that there is already plenty to do in town — such as the recent Fire and Ice Winter Festival, which drew more than 2,000 people — and plans to provide more good reasons to make the trip.

That list includes the Amherst Literary Walk on April 11, a day of literary events throughout the downtown, including readings, workshops, literary trivia, and more, said Page, adding that one of the BID’s broad goals is to get people out and have them experience Amherst.

Another is to help bring new businesses to town and create an environment that will enable them to succeed year-round. Like others we spoke with, Page said Amherst has some unique assets, but especially the colleges and the people who go there to learn and to work.

“We have to keep showing up for these businesses that give this place its identity. These are not just storefronts — they create jobs, they build relationships, and they shape the character of the community.”

“There is this youthfulness,” he said, speaking to the environment created by the melding of the higher learning institutions and the omnipresent arts and culture. “You’ve got bands, you have artists of all ages, and a college town both because of the students and the faculty. There’s this appreciation for arts and culture — we have a lot of museums and a lot of live music going on, and that goes hand-in-hand with a college community, and that helps us out even when the students aren’t here because that reputation is great in the summer, when we want to invite other people to join us from across Massachusetts, across New England, and across the world.”

Robinson agreed, noting that the chamber is committed to promoting and supporting the downtown, but other ‘villages’ in the community as well, such as the Mill District in North Amherst and the South Amherst section of town.

“We have to keep showing up for these businesses that give this place its identity,” he said, summing up the chamber’s mission. “These are not just storefronts — they create jobs, they build relationships, and they shape the character of the community.”

What’s in Store

As she spoke with BusinessWest, Becky Guyer was gearing up for Easter, but also a very busy three-month stretch that includes Mother’s Day, college and high school graduations, some weddings, and other events that require flowers.

She can speak from experience about what this time means for her Floral Affairs shop in downtown Greenfield. But the one she opened last July on North Pleasant Street in Amherst … not so much.

Indeed, Guyer said she is still experiencing a learning curve when it comes to doing business in downtown Amherst. She was invited to look at the North Pleasant location, long a flower shop, at the behest of the building’s owner, who thought she might be interested in opening a second location there.

After some due diligence, she determined that she was.

“I thought that this could be a good opportunity — this is a college town, there are some venues in town, some that we already do weddings with, as well as UMass events and Amherst College events,” she said, adding that the location was also across the street from a funeral home, which, in the floral world, is a real benefit.

“There were a lot of positives,” she went on, adding that the storefront, which had to be completely gutted, wasn’t one of them. But she moved forward with confidence, has found the move worthwhile, and has high praise for the chamber and the BID. But there has been a learning curve as she adapts to life in a college town.

“When the college kids leave … it was the worst Christmas I’ve ever seen in my life — so much so that it’s made us completely restructure our game plan,” she told BusinessWest. “I don’t necessarily have a designer in Amherst — it’s meant for convenience; all orders get run out of Greenfield, and we’ve made this location more of a convenience store.”

Overall, the downtown Amherst location is a work in progress, she said, adding that she is learning the cadence, if you will, of this college town, and the nuances of the calendar. Christmas was a letdown, and she’s not sure what to expect this summer, but she is optimistic about the upcoming few months and what they could bring, and the location itself.

“The walk-up traffic is fantastic — there’s a young, growing community there that comes in quite a bit,” she said. “There are a lot of $10, $15, and $20 sales, which is great.”

Andrea Marion is also getting used to the rhythm of Amherst’s downtown. She moved the Closet from a location in the Mill District to a storefront (a former restaurant) on Main Street last fall. She enjoyed the Mill District atmosphere but said there is more foot traffic in the downtown, and that suits her operation.

She described her business as a “curated resale boutique,” and herself as a “fashion concierge.”

“I hand-pick every piece that comes into the store — I don’t do consignment, generally, and I try to make sure I have something for everyone … I sell for all genders and all sizes,” said Marion, a nonprofit manager before she went into business for herself, adding that, while many items would be described as high-end (Fendi, Givenchy, and Prada handbags, for example), she has items at all price points.

Like Guyer, Marion said it takes some time to get used to the patterns of the downtown, especially when it comes to the students’ schedules, but overall, she says the area is becoming ever more vibrant and remains a good place to do business.

“There’s a lot of energy and activity,” she said, adding that she is accessible to more people now, which has broadened the customer base and made it more diverse, especially age-wise. “Amherst’s downtown has so much potential, and I’m really happy to be here.”