Clark Biscuit Open House Draws Interest

By Tammy Daniels
iBerkshires Staff
08:00AM / Sunday, September 27, 2009

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An open house was held Saturday for the renovated Clark Biscuit Co. building. Top: looking through an old oven opening.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Renovations at the former Clark Biscuit Co. have been under way for more than a year to turn the former biscuit factory into residential units.

More than a 100 interested residents on Saturday toured the two buildings that make up the complex to see the results.

The spacious 68,000 square-foot mill has been carved up into 43 one- and two-bedroom loft style apartments, including three that are handicapped-accessible.

Giant pillars reminiscent of the halls of Moria remain in place, creating a forest of cement in the basement area and integrating into the walls and hallways above. New energy-efficient windows offer wide views of North Adams and the mountains, their size dependent on the floor and section. One two-bedroom unit looking southwest, boasted a living room/kitchen area completely lined with windows. On the top floors, skylights add to the preponderance of natural lighting in the vast mill.

One apartment on the top floor in the concrete building to the south includes what was once a walk-in brick oven, complete with domed brick ceiling and wide mouth for pulling out trays of biscuits.

The floors are new hardwood, the walls and many of the ceilings left brick, or stucco or wood, painted over in the condition they were in to remind the tenant of their home's past. All the apartments come with stove, refrigerator and dishwasher with light cabinets and dark counters.

Some of the larger units include a utility room with washer and dryer hookups. For those not so lucky, a laundry room is available in the basement. Also in the basement are storage areas; each unit will get a wood-and-wire locked storage unit.

The apartments run about a 1,000 square feet for one bedrooms and 1,300 for two. There are staircases on both ends of the complex and an elevator serving all floors. The building also includes security locks, off-street parking, a community room, bus access and central heat and air. The basement has a lot of leftover room for future uses.

The building was renovated by Arch Street Development of Needham, which specializes in reusing industrial and public buildings, and will be managed by Berkshire Housing Corp.

Designed with affordability in mind, the units are available to income-eligible individuals or families up to four making between $32,580 and $46,560 a year, depending on size. Rents range are $657 a month for a one bedroom and $778 for two, utilities not included.

The mill was established as a cracker and biscuit factory by the Clark family in the early 20th century. It was later used by a company called Tartan, whose sign sat atop the building for decades; it's now stored in the basement. A section of the south building was used for a restaurant in the early 1990s and a french fry machine manufacturer was there for awhile.

The city took possession of the building in 2004 for $24,000 in back taxes. The late William Foley had claimed the building was the headquarters of his Divine Church of Cosmogony, of which he was patriarch. The city sold it to Arch Street Development in February 2008.

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