Housing –

Berkshire Housing has developed fourteen rental apartment complexes including the conversion of three former school buildings, two hotels, a former nursing home and a YMCA building and has served as Development Consultant on a number of others. The projects have been designed to meet the needs of a broad range of residents and have involved a variety of federal, state and private financing. Utilizing the HUD 202 program Berkshire Housing has constructed 5 low-income elderly projects. The Redfield House, a supportive housing project for young mothers and Keenan House, a treatment facility and apartments for a local substance abuse agency were funded with state, federal and private funding.

Berkshire Housing recently oversaw the purchase and renovation of Christian Hill Commons, a 40 unit apartment complex that was at risk of converting to market rate housing.  Berkshire Housing also served as Development Consultant on the Gordon Mansfield VeteranCommunity, a 39 unit limited equity cooperative.

Others include the creation of 44 studio apartments on the upper floors of the Pittsfield YMCA for low-income single adults and thedevelopment of 70 congregate beds and studio apartments for homeless veterans. The organization has also developed The Pines, a 41 unit condominium where one-third of theunits were reserved for first time homebuyers, a subdivision of single-family homes and the purchase of 30 HUD-foreclosed properties that were renovated and sold to first-time homebuyers. Its largest project was the co-development of Kimball Farms, a 150-unit life care retirementcommunity in Lenox. 

Berkshire Housing also administers the Section 8 rental assistance programs in Berkshire County under contract with the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. These programs provide rent subsidies to morethan 550 low-income families who reside in privately owned housing throughout the County. It also provides counseling and casemanagement to a number of the participants who are working to become independent.

In 1992 Berkshire Housing organized the Good Samaritan Homeownership Program, an innovative program for first-time buyers by assembling a consortium of 8 banks and one credit union. Banks gavebelow market rate loans for existing homes and Berkshire Housing staff provided homebuyer seminars and counselingthroughout the purchase process. More than 220 families have bought homes through this program.