Research Prompting New Direction for Pittsfield Life Sciences Center

By Joe DurwinPittsfield Correspondent
09:15PM / Wednesday, January 15, 2014Print Story | Email Story


	PEDA officials say there is much local interest in the development of an innovation center. A feasibility study for the project has begun with the city's acceptance of $64,000 grant on Tuesday.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Realization of a multimillion-dollar incubation center at the William Stanley Business Park may be significantly closer, though the vision for what that center may look like has altered in the process.

"I am guardedly optimistic that we're going to be able to move ahead on this," Mayor Daniel Bianchi told the board of the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority on Wednesday morning, referring to the second piece of a two-phase feasibility study begun over the summer.

Phase 2 of the study has now begun, following acceptance by the City Council on Tuesday of a $64,000 grant from PEDA's own funds to underwrite the second and final phase.

"There has been a tremendous amount of interest from local businesses who would like to consider participation in a facility," said the mayor of the information produced by the study's first phase.

Part of those findings, previewed last month by consultant Rod Jane of New England Expansion Strategies, is that the proposed center should focus its mission strategy on growing the existing industrial base in the Berkshires, having the center "accelerate and enable growth within those industries," an approach which seems to please the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center that controls the purse strings of earmarked funding for this hoped-for development.

"It's kind of morphed from 'Life Sciences Center' to 'Innovation Center,'" Bianchi summarized, commenting on the study's leaning toward the "probability of this facility being oriented toward [industrial] innovation as opposed to strictly biotechnology and applied life sciences."

Bianchi said one of the most critical components of the next phase will be efforts by consultant firm New England Expansion Strategies to pursue some of the 70 companies met with as part of Phase 1 that had voiced the most interest in being involved in this type of innovation center. Acquiring up to $6.5 million to build the facility, first earmarked for such a site in 2008, will be contingent on having enough prospective tenants committed in advance.

The mayor also believes sources of money should be explored from private investments besides waiting several years for these state funds.

"I'm a little discouraged by the length of time the Life Sciences Center seem to want to take to release these monies," said Bianchi. "I think it would be reasonable to look at some of these other options."

"One of the exciting pieces of the re-formation is that as we look at this center for innovation is the availability of this center for local business," added PEDA Executive Director Corydon Thurston.

Thurston said retention of existing industry should be "the number one priority" of economic development efforts in this market.

"To have this center set up so it can be used by locals as an enabling facility, as a catalyst for collaboration, and for research and development which they can't afford to do on their own" would be very advantageous, according to Thurston, coupled with the opportunity to mix this with mentorship of new startups.

"It will enhance the local business marketplace, and use that as a lever to bring in startups that want to learn how to make something," he suggested.

Tags: business park, life sciences, PEDA,

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Prospect Meadow Farm Opens New Vocational Barn

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:40AM / Thursday, June 18, 2026

A charcuterie board at the event displays fare from some of the regional producers.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prospect Meadow Farm last week officially opened a new barn to sell plants and other goods it produces.

Prospect Meadow Farm Berkshires is an expansion of ServiceNet's first farm in Hatfield that has provided meaningful agricultural work, fair wages, and personal and professional growth to hundreds of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities since opening in 2011.

The Berkshires farm opened on Crane Avenue two years ago and has now introduced a new vocational and unwinding space for the more than 25 farmhands who get paid a minimum wage.

"This is a facility for our folks who work on the farm to learn additional skills and do additional work," said Vice President of Vocational Services Shawn Robinson at the Friday event. "So we have a food packaging space, we've got a walk-in cooler space, we've got a floral design space, we've got a farm store room for staff, lunch room, and then a meditation room that we're standing in now, which is when you're having those hard moments and you need to get away from everything.

"This is going to be a peaceful place you can find and sort of find some comfort, and then hopefully get back to work."

The barn was built by funds from the state Executive Office of Economic Development and the state Department of Agricultural Resources that equated to around $600,000, with ServiceNet contributing around the same amount. The structure took over a year to build.

The state's Department of Developmental Services Commissioner Sarah Peterson spoke on how meaningful this farm and ServiceNet is to her and that this place is important to those who need it.

"Places like this are so crucial because they create opportunities for people living with disabilities that aren't plentiful," she said. "People living with developmental and intellectual disabilities have an unemployment rate over 25 percent five times the rate for people without disabilities, even more jarring is under appointment, which is at 80 percent. That means that four out of every five people with disabilities earn below market rate wages and have limited upward mobility.

"The building itself is really impressive, but what you're really seeing here is the result of vision. It's about opportunity, it's about community, and it's founded in the belief that every person deserves the chance to learn and work and contribute to thrive under the leadership of ServiceNet."

One aspect of the barn will be the market where produce from the farm and other local growers will be sold as well as keeping the tradition of Jodi's Seasonal, which previously occupied the location, alive with plant sales. The market will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"Everything you see in terms of the tomatoes, the fresh produce, that's all done with the hands of our farm hands here, individuals with disabilities who get out every single morning, get in those greenhouses, put their hands in the dirt, and make all of this happen, and this is just the start," said Robinson. "This farm is a little over a year old at this point, but give it another two years, and we hope to be growing enough food to share throughout the Berkshires."

Robinson said the farm is focused on local food security, recently partnering with the Hatfield Council on Aging and planning to work toward making enough food to partner with places in the Berkshires.

He said the barn serves the Hatfield farm and what the employees here needed.

"We've been able to learn the needs of the farm hands who work there and so we have learned that they need a comfortable break space for those times where it's hard to be out in the fields, we've learned that a quiet space for when you're going through something you need to be away from people are key, and then also we have a small farm store in Hatfield, but we've seen increasing interest in retail work from our participants, so we thought it was time for a larger-scale farm store," he said.

Robinson noted that Prospect Meadow Farm has helped the individuals working there feel valued and head.

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