image description — PEDA Executive Director Corydon Thurston said the company has signed a letter of intent to lease the 16-acre parcel.

National Retail Company Moving to Pittsfield PEDA Site

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
12:33PM / Wednesday, December 21, 2011Print Story | Email Story

Neal Shalom, a principal with Waterstone Retail Development, said he could not reveal who the anchor would be until permitting has been completed.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A "national" retail chain is expected to call the William Stanley Business Park home and bring 150 jobs to the city.

The Pittsfield Economic Development Authority announced on Wednesday that the group is negotiating with Needham-based Waterstone Retail Development to construct a 170,000 square-foot complex for the national store. Officials from Waterstone said they can not reveal who will be the anchor of the 16-acre development yet but that it will be the primary business with one or two smaller buildings on the Tyler Street Extension property — known as the "Teens Complex."

"We all envisioned this park as manufacturing but we all know things have changed," PEDA Chairman Gary Grunin said. "We feel this new project will tie in with what the businesses are doing in Morningside."

According to Neal Shalom, a principal with Waterstone Retail, permitting is expected to be completed in 2012 and construction will begin in 2013.

For the remaining parcels, Shalom said the group will work with the PEDA board to help future development and added that the company, which also builds office and industrial sites, could be interested in another development there.

Waterstone is the latest tenant of the former General Electric property. PEDA has negotiated leases with Action Ambulance and MountainOne Financial Partners to construct new headquarters, and also hosts one of the largest solar arrays in New England. While redevelopment of the site was first envisioned for manufacturing, with one parcel still be eyed for that, Grunin said the market dictated the move to retail.

Shalom said this project was made possible because PEDA was willing to work with the developers and the retail will fit in with the future developments on the rehabilitated land.

"There are a lot of towns that have rundown and underused downtowns but there aren't a lot of cities like Pittsfield that have a board like the PEDA group that are willing to listen to things that could work rather than just listening to the things they want. We worked together over a long period of time to come up with a plan," Shalom said. "I think it will be good for everyone."

Retiring Mayor James Ruberto heralded the announcement as an early Christmas present for the city and even wore a tie featuring Santa Claus to show the spirit. The move will help revitalize the whole city, he said.

"Not only will it create for us a legitimate tax base here on this property but what it will do is that it will be the spark plug to revitalize the Morningside neighborhood," Ruberto said. "We couldn't be more proud to have Waterstone join us. That is the theme. This city is now attractive to developers like Waterstone where eight years we felt like the Maytag repair man, no one would answer our telephone calls."

Waterstone has had supermarkets anchor many of its developments but has also worked with national companies such as Home Depot, Target and PetSmart. This will be the company's first development in the Berkshires but Waterstone completed two projects in Westfield recently.

PEDA does not yet but control of the 16-acre site from General Electric but PEDA Executive Director Corydon Thurston said that transfer will happen soon.

Tags: business park, PEDA,

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Well North Adams - there goes your Lowes?
from: Too Bad NA	on: 12-21-2011 06:00PM I Agree (1) - I Disagree (9)
Editor: One possibility, although they are in a period of consolidation. Depends on the square footage - 170,000 might not be enough for a home store and two others.
I Agree (7) - I Disagree (2)

Unless this is a unique retailer that will bring shoppers into the county, it seems like all this will do is cause another store or two to close in the county or hurt the downtown shopping districts. The Berkshire Mall has plenty of retail space available, it seems.
from: Win Lose Proposition	on: 12-21-2011 06:57PM I Agree (9) - I Disagree (3)

more like a petsmat store ,lowes needs 170 sq ft not much room left .this company doesn,t deal with lowes ,they like to buy there own land not lease it.
from: jim	on: 12-21-2011 07:02PM I Agree (2) - I Disagree (1)
Editor: But can we support another giant pet store? We've got Petco over on Merrill. Or another grocery? Their website says "grocery-anchored power and non-traditional specialty centers." Hmmm, what could it be?
I Agree (3) - I Disagree (2)

but can pittsfield support a new food store ,they just opened B J,S .what other store is there for food stores aldi,s hanaford ,or mybe cosgo. hummm.
from: jim	on: 12-21-2011 07:42PM I Agree (3) - I Disagree (1)

Wow. Look Dick . I guess no one told them they could tax a city to prosperity. I guess you are just smarter than everyone else. Keep moving the city forward to bankruptcy.
from: RealWayne	on: 12-21-2011 07:49PM I Agree (4) - I Disagree (11)
Editor: What on earth do your comments have to do with anything about this story? Can't you give it a rest for minute! FYI: Pittsfield's tax rate went up, too.
I Agree (15) - I Disagree (1)

Checkout waterstoneretail.com/portfolio this should tell you the types of stores they serve.
from: Berk	on: 12-21-2011 08:18PM I Agree (1) - I Disagree (1)

The store coming to Pittsfield is Lowes. North Adams can have their Super Wal Mart and we will have a nice new Lowes! North Adams had the deal locked up and had signed on the dotted line until the planning commission and State stuck their noses into the project.
from: Lowes	on: 12-21-2011 10:43PM I Agree (5) - I Disagree (5)
Editor: Possible, but seems unlikely. The size isn't right and they concentrate on groceries and specialty chains. Lowe's closed 20 stores in October but they're still talking about opening 25 as planned for last year.
I Agree (2) - I Disagree (2)

The only possible store that might work for all is a Christmas Tree Shop. What's the betting line?
from: Win Lose Proposition	on: 12-22-2011 07:54AM I Agree (7) - I Disagree (2)

It wouldn't be a grocery store. The Consent Decree and DEDA the City signed with GE does not allow for any food service operation to be built on the property. No grocery store, no food packaging, no fast food restaurants. Actually in the DEDA and Consent decree there are several types of businesses that are not allowed to be built on the property which may be one of the many reasons itï¿½s taken so long to find any viable tenets.
from:	on: 12-22-2011 08:01AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (1)
Editor: Never thought about the consent decree. Good point.
I Agree (1) - I Disagree (1)

One of the reasons the mall if full of empty spaces is because the rents are high and the owners get a percentage of the shop's profits.
from: lila	on: 12-22-2011 08:59AM I Agree (10) - I Disagree (1)

I can't picture Hannaford coming into Pittsfield with all of the other competition - there just isn't a market for it. It would have to be an existing store. Price Chopper is out, they just opened their new store in town not long ago. Stop & Shop's Merrill Road store could potentially be closed and they could reopen a newer store. Or... Big Y in downtown could close up and they could open a newer and larger store. A perfect fit for North Berkshire would be for Price Chopper to open a brand spanking new super store at the Lowe's site, to compete directly with Super Walmart. They did that in Saratoga, built a PC super store right across the street.
from: NAer	on: 12-22-2011 10:27AM I Agree (4) - I Disagree (1)
Editor: The sad thing is that there was a brand-spanking new Price Chopper on the so-called Lowe's site in North Adams. I use to shop there all the time. It closed sometime in the 1990s.
I Agree (2) - I Disagree (1)

The Curran Highway Price Chopper closed because Golub didn't own the land, and they did own the property (and still do) on State Road, and they saw that only one store would survive. And while the Curran store looked "new," the building it was in, as we saw in the years after, was in pretty sorry shape. With the new dynamic of a Super Walmart coming in on Curran Highway, I think the Golubs would be smart to take it head on. The State Road store is doing well (a relative works there) but I'm not sure how any of the markets will do against Walmart unless they really compete.
from: NAer	on: 12-22-2011 12:13PM I Agree (5) - I Disagree (2)

"Lowes" above is wrong. The Lowes project coasted through the North Adams planning process with few, if any changes.
from: Wrong O	on: 12-22-2011 08:35PM I Agree (5) - I Disagree (2)
Editor: You are correct, I missed that. In fact, the Planning Board over the past year has also approved changes on old State Road necessary for a Lowe's.
I Agree (7) - I Disagree (3)

The Editorial comments, are, well, asinine at best. Editors should be informed and well versed in their commentary. If the comments are worthless, then moderate them! Know the Consent Decree, know what it covers. Editorial commentary should offer a perspective that the reader might miss. The current pattern of editorial commentary could be bested by a 5th grader who has done his or her homework. It's almost as bad as the Transcript. It's embarrassing at best, thought- less at worst. You must do better if you wish to perform as a journalist.
from: fools rush in	on: 12-26-2011 07:18AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (7)
*Editor: Never claimed to be an expert on everything. The comments are designed to allow others to share their expertise and opinions, and "worthless" is pretty subjective.*
I Agree (5) - I Disagree (1)

Wayne, really?!? Seriously? And you are not kidding?! 1) Per square foot, even with North Adams' super high commercial tax rate, the property owner will pay more in actual dollars per square foot to Pittsfield because of North Adams' extremely low property values. 2) If North Adams lowers its commercial rate, it will have to raise the residential rate (or we could just get rid of the fire department or police) and we know how much you would love that. 3) Pittsfield has three times the number of residents, a higher average income, and better traffic volume than North Adams. Of course major retailers will look there first. 4) Are you really that clueless about why stores don't come to North Adams very often? Even the low tax dollars and cheap property values cannot make up for the fact that per capita we have EXTREMELY LOW disposable income. Aside from grocery, drug, liquor and convenience stores, 50%+ of our population does not shop. I told you this when you were wondering why Bennington does better - Look in the mirror and all around you. The problem is us, not the mayor.
from: What a Joke	on: 12-26-2011 01:30PM I Agree (9) - I Disagree (1)

Whole Foods/ Trader Joe's?
from: #justguessing	on: 12-27-2011 08:49AM I Agree (1) - I Disagree (2)

Really folks, the answer to who is moving in is quite simple. The store moving in is going to be a Costco's. Where there is a BJ's there is a costco's close by and when the walmart leaves its current location in North Adams for their bigger store that one will become a Sam's Club. These stores move in packs.
from: Come on.	on: 12-28-2011 03:17PM I Agree (1) - I Disagree (3)

I vote for Whole Foods! A nice place for prepared meals and foods! I will make the trip and gladly spend my money in Pittsfield! Our cities and towns in Berkshire County are too small to support many of these stores on there own. If we want these stores to come and give us choices we need to be willing to travel and support them.
from: ab williamstown	on: 12-29-2011 04:28PM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

PHS Community Challenges FY27 Budget Cuts

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:31AM / Tuesday, March 31, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee received an early look Wednesday at the proposed fiscal year 2027 facility budgets, and the Pittsfield High community argued that $653,000 would be too much of a burden for the school to bear.

On Wednesday, during a meeting that adjourned past 10 p.m., school officials saw a more detailed overview of the spending proposal for Pittsfield's 14 schools and administration building.

They accepted the presentation, recognizing that this is just the beginning of the budget process, as the decision on whether to close Morningside Community School still looms. The FY27 budget calendar plans the School Committee's vote in mid-April.

Under this plan, Pittsfield High School, with a proposed FY27 budget of around $8.1 million, would see a reduction of seven teachers (plus one teacher of deportment) and an assistant principal of teaching and learning, and a guidance counselor repurposed across the district.

The administration said that after "right-sizing" the classrooms, there were initially 14 teacher reductions proposed for PHS.

"While I truly appreciate the intentionality that has gone into developing the equity-based budget model, I am incredibly concerned that the things that make our PHS community strong are the very things now at risk," PHS teacher Kristen Negrini said. "Because when our school is facing a reduction of $653,000, 16 percent of total reductions, that impact is not just a number on a spreadsheet. It is the experience of our students."

She said cuts to the high school budget is more than half of the districtwide $1.1 million in proposed instructional cuts.

Student representative Elizabeth Klepetar said the "Home Under the Dome" is a family and community. There is reportedly anxiety in the student body about losing their favorite teacher or activities, and Klepetar believes the cuts would be "catastrophic," from what she has seen.

"Keep us in mind. Use student and faculty voice. Come to PHS and see what our everyday life looks like. If you spend time at PHS, you would see our teamwork and adaptability to our already vulnerable school," she said.

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