NORTH ADAMS - The developer of the defunct North Adams Plaza is expected to appear before the City Council in two weeks with plans that will include the construction of a Lowe's Home Improvement store.
Lowe's has long been rumored to be the anchor store for a shopping center on Curran Highway. Its name was first raised when Nigro Development LLC of Albany, N.Y., took out an option on the city's former gravel bank nearly two years ago. But that deal never closed. Now the big-box retailer is slated for the plaza shopping center, owned by Starwood Ceruzzi Co. of Fairfield, Conn.
"It does look like it's going to happen this time around," Mayor John Barrett III told the council on Tuesday night. He said the site has been OKed by the home improvement company's real estate committee, but cautioned the plans were still preliminary.
Representatives for Starwood Ceruzzi were scheduled to appear at the council meeting with a plan to reconfigure South State Street, which runs behind the plaza south to Adams. Barrett said some discrepancies were found in the documents, causing the developer to postpone the presentation.
South State Street was left to the city when county government folded some years ago. The city will not maintain the road, said Barrett, but because it is the city's, any changes must be approved by the Planning Board, then by the council.
"It is important that this road be maintained because the Petricca family does own the land in the back and will hopefully want to develop it someday," said the mayor.
The plaza, empty since last summer, is expected to be demolished. The footprint of the new building or buildings means the road will have to be moved back toward the Petricca property. The developer will have to reconstruct and maintain the road.
The new shopping plaza will have to go through the permitting process, including the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act office. Developers asked the city Conservation Commission to delineate wetlands on the property several weeks ago. If the permitting process goes smoothly, the mayor estimated completion in about 18 months.
The deal to put a Lowe's on the former gravel pit site last summer fell through when the Adams Selectmen raised concerns about the possible effects on the town's sewer system, which serves that end of the city.
Those worries have been eased by discussions with the mayor and Starwood Ceruzzi over the past few months. "There's been a good working relationship between the two communities about what's going on," said Barrett.
"The mayor has the support of the Adams Selectmen," Chairman Joseph R. Dean Jr. told the North Adams Transcript on Monday. "I don't think there'll be any opposition. Last time, I think there was a lot of misunderstandings and things taken out of context. We just wanted some information — we weren't really opposed to it. ..."
The building will be about 130,000 square feet and will likely employ about 100 people. A bank and drive-through is also on the plans.
Starwood Ceruzzi bought the plaza for $2.5 million in 2004. That firm and Nigro joined forces, with Nigro as the silent partner, to develop both the plaza and the gravel pit. Nigro's option to purchase the city property for $700,000 expires in September, the latest of several extensions.
Barrett said he informed the development group that it should purchase the property, or expect to pay a significant amount of money to continue the option.
"I think they've got to fish or cut bait here as to what's going to happen," said the mayor.
Tammy Daniels can be reached at tdaniels@iberkshires.com
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I really think it's too bad that Lowe's is coming - what is going to happen to the small town hardware stores that have been around forever? What about those employees???
They will have to go to work for Lowes and everyone in town will save money and be more likely to improve their properties which in turn will make the city a nicer place.
If you buy nothing but the promotional specials, anybody with a calculator or a pad and pencil can figure that they might save. BUT if you really need something they don't have. you will pay 20-40% MORE than you would at the local shops and hardware stores.
Also, don't expect to see the same faces there next time you go in. They don't have long-time employees.
The good, local small stores will stay through this, since they are part of what this town is.
I am so glad...ever try to get any service at Greenbergs if you aren't a big contractor? Finally, a big company that might help the true little guy. Maybe the smaller stores will actually have to help customers...theres a concept!
Are you joking? Greenberg's is nothing if not customer-focused. I have gotten great advice from the truly knowledgable staff at Greenbergs on numerous occassions and I am just a do-it-yourselfer. I will continue to shop at G-bergs.
Glad to see something worthwhile back in the neighborhood, maybe there would be enough room for another supermarket since BIG Y is the only one in Adams- I sure the hope so! So we will have a choice for a change. Good luck! Look forward to seeing some made out of that dump!
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The McCann School Committee on Thursday approved a level-service "vanilla" budget for fiscal 2027.
The total spending plan for the Northern Berkshire Regional Vocational District is $13,218,090, up $564,753 or 3.69 percent over this year. The budget includes a second assistant principal, a special education teacher and interest on the building repair project.
"We frequently refer to our budget as a vanilla budget, and it sort of is this year, with some exceptions," said Finance Committee Chair Daniel Maloney. "The capital part of it is something different than the operating budget, but there will be an impact from that as well. But again, trying to be sensitive to what our communities can afford."
Maloney and Superintendent of Schools James Brosnan stressed the need for an assistant principal, noting how lean the administrative staff was but how much the work has increased.
"I've only got three people from my left that are responsible for this entire school," Brosnan told the School Committee. "There is no school in Massachusetts that only has a principal, assistant principal, director of students. Nothing, zero."
Maloney said it was a matter of "right-sizing" the organization that is running two schools. He pointed to the update from Prinicipal Justin Kratz that covered sports, enrollment, Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System testing, teacher retention and recruitment, student services, reporting to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the state's ongoing debate over graduation requirements.
"You just see by the presentation tonight, by Justin, how much work goes into these things," Maloney said. "And even with our teaching staff, I often wonder how they have time to do their jobs when they've got all this data and all these things put together to feed the state, keep them happy. ...
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art Commission welcomed bread-baking appliance designers Brod & Taylor to the campus on Monday. click for more
He explained his plans to the License Commission on Tuesday as he applied for an all-alcohol license for Zio Roberto Ristorante and Taverna, which is expected to open in late May.
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Qwanell Bradley scored 33 points, and Adan Wicks added 29 as the Hoosac Valley boys basketball team won a Division 5 State Championship on Sunday. click for more
Thirty portraits are on display at Hotel Downstreet, part of an initiative to use the arts and storytelling to humanize substance abuse disorder. click for more
