Lenox Awarded $950K Grant for Downtown Improvements

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LENOX, Mass. — Lenox has been awarded a $950,000 public works grant to help improve the town's gateways and West Street to the main gate at Tanglewood.

The funding is part of $8.6 million in infrastructure grants awarded to projects in eight communities as part of Gov. Deval Patrick's Massachusetts Recovery Plan to secure the state's economic future. The money from the Executive Office of Transportation's Public Works Economic Development grant will be used for the  Lenox Village Downtown Revitalization Project.

"This is great news!" said state Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, D-Lenox. "During these tough economic times, the town of Lenox is making a big investment in its economic future and this PWED will allow the town to complete this project."

The project will rehabilitate the downtown's infrastructure and revitalize the seven-block area of Lenox Village. Project elements will include new sidewalks, new pocket parks, new gateways to downtown entrances and new lighting.

The PWED project will support the nearby roadway reconstruction project along West Street (Route 183), the roadway that links the village to Tanglewood. Improvements to West Street will include new sidewalks, new bicycle lanes and upgraded drainage. These two projects together are expected to create a much-improved gateway for Lenox and for Tanglewood, a critical component of the town and regional economy.

Town Manager Gregory Federspiel said the funding will be a boost to the revitalization project.

"The funds provided through the grant will play a significant role in allowing us to complete our Village Improvement Plan, which is critical to the revitalization of our historic village," he said. "Merchants and citizens are excited about they have seen in Phase 1 which is now partially complete. With this assistance from the Executive Office of Transportation, the town will be able to move ahead with Phase II and create a new vitality to our downtown area. The town of Lenox appreciates the support Governor Patrick and Transportation Secretary Aloisi are able to extend to us."

State Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, D-Pittsfield, called it a major step forward in creating a pedestrian-friendly downtown. "The new bike lanes, pedestrian walkways, and green spaces will certainly increase foot traffic and economic activity to the area."

The Executive Office of Transportation provides PWED funding awards to municipalities for transportation infrastructure improvements that will spur economic development, job creation, smart growth and better pedestrian access.

"The PWED grant program provides our communities with infrastructure funding that spurs private investment and economic growth throughout our commonwealth,” said Patrick. "This project in Lenox and others like it across the state demonstrate our commitment to regional equity, and promise to deliver long term economic benefits to cities and towns."

Since 2000, EOT has awarded $99.6 million in PWED contracts for 98 projects in 66 municipalities. This funding has leveraged hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment and helped create thousands of local jobs, both permanent jobs and temporary construction jobs, according to state officials.

Created by the Legislature in the 1980s, the PWED program plays an important role in the state's overall infrastructure investment strategy, and is meant to assist municipalities by supporting local projects that stimulate economic development. PWED is part of the Commonwealth Capital program for fiscal 2009, and is coordinated with other discretionary state spending programs that affect development patterns in Massachusetts. This coordination allows the state to leverage investments, economic development, housing growth and environmental sustainability.

Infrastructure investments are key components of Patrick's Recovery Plan, which combines a range of state and federal funding sources to provide immediate and long-term economic relief.

For more information about the Massachusetts Recovery Plan, visit www.mass.gov/recovery.
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A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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