LENOX, Mass. — Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club is replacing the historic Carriage House that burned in 2010 with a new 18-room building to open in July.
The new Carriage House draws on the former's 1890s structure, according to a press release on PR Web. The original plans were located in the Boston Public Library; Cutler Associates is the current architect and Hughes Design Associates is doing the interior design.
The building will house 15 queen doubles, two kings and a king suite. It is connected to the Spa at Cranwell by a glass-enclosed, heated walkway.
"We are very excited about re-opening the Carriage House, which had long been a favorite of our year-round guests visiting the Berkshires," said Carl Pratt, general manager, in the release.
Firefighters from 20 departments fought the December 2010 afternoon blaze that gutted the building. Investigators pointed to space heaters set between floors as the likely culprits. No one was injured. The resort almost immediately announced it would rebuild.
Cutting the ribbon at the March 7 grand opening celebration NBT Bank Area Manager Daniel Kinney, left, Lenox Chamber of Commerce Director Ralph Petillo, Lenox Selectwoman Linda Procopio Messana, Lenox Branch Manager John Bortolotto and Miss Hall's School Chief Financial Office Susan Baumgarten.
LENOX, Mass. — NBT Bank officials and area dignitaries celebrated the opening in Lenox on Wednesday of the bank's fifth Berkshire County office.
The NBT Bank of Lenox, located at 2 Holmes Road, officially opened Feb. 7 and features a full service drive-up lane, night depository facilities, coin counting machine and a 24-hour ATM.
"We are pleased to announce the opening of our new Lenox Office that provides us with another opportunity to offer residents and businesses convenient access to our unique brand of community banking," NBT Bank Vice President and Area Manager Daniel Kinney said. "The opening of this office symbolizes NBT Bank's commitment to the local community and the Berkshire region."
NBT Bank offers personal banking, asset management and business services through a network of 132 banking locations in four states. NBT Bank and its parent company, NBT Bancorp Inc., are headquartered in Norwich, N.Y. NBT Bancorp Inc. had assets of $5.6 billion as of Dec. 31, 2011, and is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol NBTB.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — SABIC Innovative Plastics debuted two new Lexan film technologies at the Cartes & IDentification in Paris on Monday.
The polycarbonate film simplifies adding security features ID cards to combat identity theft and counterfeiting. The technologies are advances on SABIC's Lexan Secure ID film portfolio introduced several years ago.
"Identity theft and the risk of counterfeiting call for increased functionality and innovation in electronic ID card design," said Lennard Markestein, global marketing director for Innovative Plastics' Specialty Film & Sheet. "These two new Lexan film technologies are critical additions to our ID card film portfolio, providing our customers significantly higher productivity in card production while incorporating a laser-engravable layer and a brand-new option to create more sustainable cards with longer useful life of the ID cards.
Lexan SDCX has a core layer of white opaque or transparent Lexan film with a clear, laser-engravable cap layer. Lexan SC92E hard-coated film for card overlays surpasses standard PC film in durability, including scratch and chemical resistance, helping to extend useful life and reduce resource consumption.
As more sophisticated security features are incorporated into the latest electronic ID cards and documents, additional layers are required to construct them. Lexan SDCX films also provide outstanding resistance to heat and frequent bending
Potential applications for these new SABIC films include electronic ID cards, military, government and police ID cards, passport data pages, green cards, driver licenses and border crossing cards.
The new BJ's Wholesale Club in Pitsfield is expected to open on Saturday, Oct. 22, with a grand opening the following Saturday. This store also includes a gas station and the big sign (at left) prompted us to stop last Friday to see if it was open — and if we could fill up. Unfortunately, the bargain price was just the crew doing a test; some of the pumps were sporting a not-so-bargain $9.99 a gallon!
The pumps should be working when the gas station opens on Thursday, Oct. 20. The store is located on Hubbard Avenue behind Berkshire Crossings.
LENOX, Mass. — Cranwell Resort has recently converted some its space to provide three additional venues for conferences and groups.
Meadow View, once the home of the Cranwell Golf School, encompasses 4,700 additional square feet of event space.
The Rockwell Room can accommodate up to 40 people classroom style and the Chesterwood Room is suited for banquets of up to 40. Casual events and indoor recreational or teambuilding activities can be held in the rustic Harvest Barn. The entire complex is connected by a deck overlooking a forested area for outdoor team-building activities, barbecues and picnics, putting contests or group snowshoeing outings in winter.
"We began offering the space to wedding clients seeking a different venue for their rehearsal dinners and soon realized that the area was suited for a variety of corporate and social events," said Dawn Ramsey-Jacobsson, Cranwell's director of sales. "Since then we have held many meetings and functions year-round."
The complex is private and is located across the street from the main entrance. The venue is further enhanced with artwork presented by Sohn Fine Art.
In addition to receiving a Best of the East Award by Meetings East Magazine in 2010, Cranwell Resort was also voted Best Event Venue" in the 2011 Berkshire Eagle Readers' Poll.
To book corporate or social events in the new Meadow View space or any other venue at Cranwell Resort, contact the Group Sales Department at 800-572-8938 or sales@cranwell.com.
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"We began offering the space to wedding clients seeking a different venue for their rehearsal dinners and soon realized that the area was suited for a variety of corporate and social events," said Dawn Ramsey-Jacobsson, Cranwell's director of sales. "Since then we have held many meetings and functions year-round." 
