The former Notre Dame Church, now Shire City Sanctuary, has hosted a number of businesses and activities and will be the site of this year's Berkshire Fringe Festival.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Community Development Board has granted a request from the owners of the former Notre Dame Church to expand the potential uses of that facility, now known as Shire City Sanctuary.
Owner Chris Swindlehurst said he and his wife, Crispina ffrench, wished to expand the potential business possibilities of the two-story, 14,000-square-foot church building, which they purchased along with an adjacent 7,000-square-foot rectory for $400,000 in 2006.
"At that time, my wife had a fairly substantial business with 10 employees, which was housed in the downstairs, and it was a textile manufacturing business," Swindlehurst told the board on Tuesday. "When they granted that special permit they had just one specific use, and now we'd like to expand the use."
For three years, the church was also the headquarters of the nonprofit Alchemy Initiative, of which ffrench was a founding member. In 2011, Alchemy was also granted a special permit to raise chickens and bees on the premises. ffrench and the organization parted ways when the building was placed back on the market in 2012.
Now known as Shire City Sanctuary, the facility is described as a "Makerspace, Cyberoffice and majestic Eventspace" on its website. It has been the site of an annual holiday bazaar, artist workshops, and next month will host the newly relocated Berkshire Fringe Festival.
Swindlehurst noted that the space also contains a commercial kitchen that they are looking to add to. He also has been looking to rent a portion of the building as "makerspace," or shared artist workspace, a perceived need for which has been of ongoing interest to many in the local arts community over the past year.
"We basically want to expand the special permit to include many different issues that may come along," said Swindlehurst.
City Planner Cornelius Hoss noted the application for usage change was "quite similar" to that granted last year to the Whitney Center for the Arts, adding that any actual usages would still require various permitting from appropriate departments, but would now be acceptable under this amendment to the special permit.
"They'll still have to get building permits, or a certificate of occupancy, to match up with a change of use," Hoss told the board, which approved the change unanimously.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Dalton Select Board Argues Over Sidewalk Article
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — A heated discussion concerning sidewalks during Monday night's Select Board meeting resulted in the acting chair calling a recess to cool the situation.
The debate stemmed from the two articles on the town meeting warrant for May 6 at 7 p.m. at Wahconah Regional High School.
One proposes purchasing a sidewalk paver for $64,000 so sidewalks can be paved or repaired for less money, but they will use asphalt rather than concrete. The other would amend the town's bylaws to mandate the use of concrete for all future sidewalks.
The article on concrete sidewalks was added to the warrant through a citizen petition led by resident Todd Logan.
The board was determining whether to recommend the article when member John Boyle took the conversation in a new direction by addressing how the petition was brought about.
"I just have a comment about this whole procedure. I'm very disappointed in the fact that you [Logan] have been working, lobbying various groups and implementing this plan and filed this petition six weeks ago. You never had any respect for the Select Board and …" Boyle said.
Before Boyle could finish his statement, which was directed to Logan, who was in the audience, Chair Joe Diver called point of order via Zoom.
Between disagreements about site design and a formal funding process not yet established, more time is needed before a decision can be made.
click for more
The Ordinances and Rules subcommittee on Monday unanimously supported a pay raise for election workers, free downtown parking for veterans, and safeguards to better protect wetlands.
click for more
A parking study of North Street will be presented at Tuesday's City Council meeting. The design maintains parallel parking while expanding pedestrian zones and adding protected bike lanes. click for more
Amy Schirmer was recognized as the Volunteer of the Year for creating a weekly therapeutic art class at the George B. Crane Center to help those in recovery from substance use. click for more