Since the final closing of the Northampton State Hospital in 1993, most of the buildings have been left alone to rot. Many of them haven't been used since the 1970s and are practically unreclaimable. A variety of things should be done with this land, including recreational facilities, historic preservation, job creation, and housing opportunities. Most importantly, it should continue to be a place where people in the community can go to for help.
         A good piece of the land should be used for recreational activities. Athletic fields should be available for many different sports.  For example, nets should be provided in order to play soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and also backstops for baseball and softball. This would enable more children, along with adults, to play a variety of recreational sports. Part of the land should also be used as a park or a playground. A public pool (since the town lost its only outdoor pool a few years ago) or a miniature golf course could be put in, or something where people in the community can go to and have a good time. Also, all of the running paths and bike paths should stay as they are. This place was originally built for the community and should continue to be a place for the community.
        Portions of the land of the former state hospital need to be historically preserved. Most importantly, a memorial should be established for the many patients who have gone through the Northampton State Hospital since it first opened. It is very important for these people to have a place to go and pay their respects to their old friends or just to remember their time at the hospital.
        The buildings on the land that can be historically preserved need to be. If all of the buildings were demolished, the community would lose all of the history that goes along with the buildings. Many would say that a building tells its own history. A person can find out a lot about the time period of the state hospital by looking at its buildings. If the buildings were not reused it would almost be like everything that the hospital did for people, gave them jobs and helped the mentally ill for over a century, just disappeared.
        A fair amount of jobs should be created. A few of the buildings should be turned over to companies than can afford to upgrade the building and reuse it as offices, studios, or small factories. Companies should look at the way the Department of Mental Health reused the Haskell building. It is very important not to demolish all of the buildings; therefore companies should be forced to try to reuse them. If companies agree to reuse buildings, they will get a discount when buying the land. A few of the smaller buildings should be available for small businesses, such as law firms and mostly different types of doctors' offices. A small restaurant would be very convenient on Hospital Hill so that people who are up there for sports or recreation can stop and get a drink or a bite to eat. Fifteen percent of the created jobs should be made available to former patients of the State Hospital or any mentally ill person.
        It is important for the mentally ill to have a job. It teaches them responsibility and it is very therapeutic (just like it was many years ago when the hospital was still in operation, until the state decided wrongfully to end that aspect of therapy).
        A piece of the former state hospital property should also be used for housing. A small neighborhood should be formed. This neighborhood should consist of moderately priced houses along with low-income housing. If possible some of the houses should be built in more of the house-like buildings of the hospital. Like employment, fifteen percent of these houses should be for the mentally ill. It is important for there to be low-income houses because some of the mentally ill, along with the non- mentally ill, will not be able to afford more expensive housing. It is also very important that not all of these houses are owned by the mentally ill. This would contradict the whole concept of deinstitutionalization, which was to incorporate the mentally ill into the community. Therefore it is necessary for people other than the mentally ill to live in this neighborhood. Due to the beautiful views, people who will and will not work at these companies will want to inhabit some of the houses.
        The most important thing that this land should be used for is a place for people to go for help. A good percentage of the existing buildings and the soon to be newly constructed buildings should be used for this purpose. This would include clinics, shelters, and doctors' offices. The clinics should include one for runaways, the mentally ill, the homeless, AA, eating disorders, etcÉ There should also be psychiatric care. There should be a building of doctors who specialize in the mentally ill, like a little hospital just for the mentally ill rather than just having a wing at the regular hospital. But this mini hospital needs to be regulated so that it does not expand and eventually recreate the original hospital. The mentally ill would get more specialized care and more attention here than at the Cooley Dickinson Hospital. This would be more effective in curing the mentally ill. Shelters such as the Grove Street Inn should remain where it is and should either be expanded to house runaways or a separate shelter should be built up the street for runaways. Also, if there is enough space, elderly housing or a nursing home should be built.
        Mainly the land should be put to good use and not waste away as it has been for the past decade or so. It should specialize in helping people who need help, especially the mentally ill, because this has been the tradition of the land since the late 1850s. It should also be a place for people of the town to go and have a good time, play sports, walk or sit in the park.