The open house, which is being held in conjunction with the Tyler Street Business Group, will include tours of some of the vacant former General Electric commercial property near the intersection of Kellogg Street and Woodlawn Avenue, as well as its headquarters at 81 Kellogg St.  

 

"This is like a chamber networking event," said PEDA Executive Director Corydon Thurston. "This is our first foray, we're going to do this with the Tyler Street group.  We're part of the neighborhood."

 

In addition to Tyler Street business owners, members of the City Council will receive invites, and the public is welcome to attend.   

 

Light refreshments will be served, and a video slideshow has been prepared to give visitors a better glimpse into the quasi-public agency and the challenged parcels of industrial property it oversees.

 

"We're going to open up the gates, so if people would like to, weather permitting, we'll get some folks who have an interest to walk down into the 'Teens section' [an area so designated because it held GE buildings numbered in the teens] and just get a feel for what the property looks like from the other side of the fence," explained Thurston.

 

The following day, PEDA and members of the city's Department of Community Development will make a presentation in Waltham before the board of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center in the hopes of acquiring funding for a consultant to conduct research and develop a business plan for a hoped-for life sciences center at William Stanley. Pittsfield will seek a portion of the $6.5 million in funds earmarked in 2008 for the proposed center to pay the consultant in developing a true business plan in the hopes of eventually making this project a reality.

 

Thurston, along with Pittsfield's new Director of Community Development Douglas Clark, expressed optimism about their chances of securing this funding, citing productive discussions with MLSC President Susan Windham-Bannister.

 

"I don't think there's any question they want to fund it," said Clark. "I think they want to make sure that what they're funding hits their objectives. The way they described it is that it's great that we have a vision, but they want this study to really prove that vision out through market research."

 

In other business, progress is ongoing with preparations to replace the demolished Woodlawn Avenue bridge crossing the business park, Thurston told the board of PEDA on Wednesday. Thurston said last-minute details on right-of-way agreements were being worked through, as well as several environmental restrictions that affect the bridge project. 

 

Initially, it was thought that construction of the bridge would be completed by this summer, helping to alleviate issues from the impending closure of Silver Lake Boulevard as the lake remediation enters its next phase, but delays throughout have recurringly pushed back the start date for this project. Last fall, the state Department of Transporation debuted a partial design plan in Pittsfield for public comment.

 

"A lot of behind the scenes work there, but for the state, it's moving at a rapid pace," said Thurston.