Arnold Place Apartment Owner Struck by Tragedy

Staff reportsiBerkshires
04:03PM / Tuesday, March 25, 2008Print Story | Email Story

Franklin Perras speaks to the City Council last month.

NORTH ADAMS - Franklin Perras' pleas to the City Council to allow him to save his crumbling apartment building took a tragic turn early this morning when his brother died after suffering a fall in Hinsdale.

Lawrence Perras was found lying unconscious on Route 8 by a passer-by around 10:30 Monday night about a quarter mile from his Holmes Road home. According to media reports, Perras suffered "substantial head lacerations"; he was pronounced dead this morning at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield.

Franklin Perras had asked for more time to rehabilitate his building on Arnold Place because he had envisioned it as a way to support himself and his brother, who had serious health issues, in their retirement.

Hinsdale Police told The Berkshire Eagle that Perras did not appear to have been hit by a car and there was no evidence of foul play. He was believed to have tripped on a curbing near the Mobile gas station on Route 8 and suffered a skull fracture.

Franklin Perras, also of Holmes Road, was expected to provide the City Council with plans this evening on rehabilitating the Arnold Place structure, which he planned to renovate into five apartments.

The building is one of 13 being targeted for demolition as part of Mayor John Barrett III's initiative to combat blight in the city. Arnold Place was among the first four structures brought before the council; the other three, one on Harrison Avenue and two on East Main Street, were ordered razed or rehabilitated in two weeks.

Perras, however, was given an extra two weeks to come with a construction plan and time line because councilors believed he was sincere - if naive - about the bringing his property up to code.

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

RIBCO Supply

Check out our great lineup of Boss Plows, and spreaders. 2 Locations Clarksburg & Pittsfield!

ribcosupply.com

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Your Comments

iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.

well i guess he won't be needing the extra income to provide for his brother anymore....i still think his treatment was pretty rotten....
from: ctrem	on: 03-25-2008 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

What's rotten here is much of his property-- the guy just doesn;t get it--- the Council told two meetings ago-- when we postponed action --to provide us with a plan and cost estimates from professional contractors--- as I told him "no sweat equity" -- his position was he could get the building up to code for 50-60 thousand dollars---whereas members of the sub-committee who had visited the site were convinced that it would be over $100 grand----so he submits meeting before last a "plan"---- no cost extimates--- but what he intended to do---and this past meeting he submits a signed contract --with his deposit of $1700 for a contractor to do his back wall-----WHY??? Why should he pay out one dime- if the building is going to be demolished?????-----that's not "good faith" that's daffy----so we give him another two weeks becuase of the tragic death of his brother----but I have many doubts in dealing with a guy -who has been in violation for a few years-- who is 70 years old and up on a ladder in 20 degree temperature when the sub-committee inspects the property--- painting the eaves pink---you don't paint your house (any color) in 20 degree temperatures---I understand that he owns 124 Church St-- but his home address is listed as Hinsdale---and the Building Inspector informed us at the first meeting that that structure(124 Church) has some problems---he's an absentee landlord--not to say that we don;t have some local landlords- that have been overwhelmed----BUT the Council was not rotten to Mr. Perras------in fact we were very lenient----chbpod
from: chbpod	on: 03-27-2008 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Northern Berkshire United Way: Founding in the Depression Era

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:45PM / Sunday, February 01, 2026

Northern Berkshire United Way is celebrated its 90th anniversary this year. Each month, will take a look back at the agency's milestones over the decades. This first part looks at its founding in the 1930s.

Northern Berkshire United Way has scrap books dating to its founding, recording the organization's business and the work of the agencies it has funded.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — It was in the depths of the Great Depression when a group of local leaders came together to collectively raise funds to support social service agencies.

The idea wasn't new; community chests had been established by the hundreds across the country in the years following World War I. Even President Franklin Roosevelt had promoted the concept, calling on communities to pool their resources during the hard times.

North Adams had been discussing a charity fund at least since Pittsfield had established one a decade earlier.

It was late 1935 when the North Adams Chamber of Commerce finally moved forward, with some of the city's most notable businessmen leading the way.

The North Adams Community Chest wouldn't be formally organized until January 1936. Over the next 90 years, it would raise millions of dollars to support families, public health, child care, social services as the Northern Berkshire United Way.

Herbert B. Clark, inheriting the presidency of North Adams Hospital from his late father, would be the impetus to transform talk into action. One of his first actions was to inform the board of directors that the hospital would not run its annual appeal — and that it was all in with the new community chest.

View Full Story