Economic Development -

In the mid 1990’s, Berkshire Housing expanded into the economic development arena.  Under contract with the Lee Community Development Corporation it redeveloped the 116,000sf former K-B Toys Warehouse in Lee, MA into a multi-tenant office and light industrial facility known as Lee Corporate Center.  A new ownership entity was organized and a financing package assembled consisting of state grants and public and private financing to fund the purchase and renovation of the facility.

In 1997, Berkshire Housing was hired to develop a revitalization strategy and coordinate revitalization efforts for downtown Pittsfield, MA, an area that had suffered from disinvestment and the loss of its retail base.  Working with business and community leaders, staff developed a plan that focused on increasing the amount of office space, expanding the presence of arts and entertainment and increasing the number of retail and restaurant establishments. The plan has been very successful and downtown is now in the midst of resurgence. More than $60 million of projects have been completed in the past five years and an additional $40 million of projects are under construction or in the planning stages including the restoration of the Colonial Theatre, a historic performing arts theatre and the construction of a new downtown cinema center complex.

In 2000, Berkshire Housing completed the $7.5 million redevelopment of the former J.J.Newberry’s building in downtown Pittsfield into the Central Block, a 72,000 square foot commercial building that houses modern offices, retail and restaurant space.  A complexfinancing package was assembled from nine sources including State and City grants and loans,historic tax credits, and loans from a five-bank consortium, the Chamber of Commerce and a local life insurance company.  Berkshire Housing oversaw the planning, design, construction, marketing and management of the project that served asa catalyst for further downtown investment.

Berkshire Housing is always searching for new opportunities and funding to meet the changing housing needs of Berkshire County residents. Its current projects include the construction of a new Senior Center in Sheffield, the redevelopment of an historic mixed use building on Main Street in Lee; the development of permanent supportive housing in Pittsfield for formerly homeless veterans; and the construction of modular homes on scattered lots in Pittsfield for lower income first time buyers.  Other potential projects in the early planning stage include the development of a live/work space project for artists and the development of new housing on in-fill lots in old neighborhoods in Pittsfield.