image description — The school and rectory on the St. Mary's campus will also be razed and the property subdivided.

Dunkin' Donuts To Raze Pittsfield Church for Drive-Through

By Joe DurwinPittsfield Correspondent
02:29PM / Thursday, September 11, 2014Print Story | Email Story

A Dunkin' Donuts franchise is seeking to tear down St. Mary's on Tyler Street and put up a new drive-through.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Developers aim to demolish a vacant former Tyler Street church and its rectory to make way for a new Dunkin' Donuts drive-through restaurant.

According to permitting paperwork filed with the city's Office of Community Development, Cafua Management Co. of North Andover, the largest franchisee of Dunkin' locations throughout the country, is in planning to erect this new restaurant on the site of the former St. Mary the Morning Star.

"The proposed restaurant will be 2,100 S.F. in size and will be located on the westerly end of the property," according to a site plan application filed by local firm SK Design. "It will include on drive-thru service window located on the north end of the building."

According to the application, Cafua is currently under agreement with the Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield, who decommissioned the church in 2008, to purchase 2.6 acres of the property, which includes parcels at 653 Tyler Street and 75 Plunkett St. The former St. Mary's campus includes five structures totaling over 41,524 square feet, including the church, rectory, convent, a small garage and a former school building that has been closed since 1973.

"The church and rectory will be razed as part of this project," the application indicates. "The school will be razed at a later date. A new parcel will be subdivided out of the two exiting parcels for the proposed restaurant."

The property is zoned for general business, and the restaurant usage is allowed by right. However, Cafua must obtain a special permit for the drive-through operation, one which requires City Council approval in addition to that of the Community Development Board. Because the structures of the church and rectory are less than 75 years old, their demolition does not need to be reviewed by the city's Historical Commission under its Demolition Delay Ordinance.

Cafua's application for a special permit includes a 76-page traffic study prepared by the firm Tighe & Bond, charting the potential impact of the new type of business at this location. Traffic formed a major point of consideration in the denial by the City Council last year of another drive-through permit sought by Cafua at the site of the former Plunkett School building.

Cafua Director of Development and Construction Gregory Nolan declined to comment on the proposed restaurant at the St. Mary's site.

"I have no comment on that location," Nolan told iBerkshires. "We're just going to go through the process."

St Mary the Morningstar was founded in 1915, but the current church building dates back to the 1950s. For decades it served as a cornerstone religious institution in the densely populated Morningside neighborhood, shutting its doors in 2008 amidst a wave of closures throughout the diocese. It has been on the market since 2010, listed on a "Price on Request" basis.

Mark Dupont, secretary of communications for the Diocese of Springfield, said he could not comment on the potential sale of any diocese property until a sale had closed, confirming only that the St. Mary's property is still on the market and there has been no closing on its purchase

Speaking generally, Dupont said that as with other closed parishes, St. Mary's had final closing services after which the building was decommissioned and sacramental objects removed and transported elsewhere.

Dupont added that the proceeds of any local church property stays within that municipality's existing church community.

"After any debt that has been incurred for that property is paid off, the remainder of the proceeds stay in that area," Dupont said. "The sale of any Pittsfield church stays in the Pittsfield Catholic community."

When asked if it was customary for any further opportunities to be provided prior to a sale for former parishioners to visit a church a final time before its demolition, Dupont said this would not be appropriate, due to the fact that its interior would be stripped of its sacramental objects and other appointments, and fundamentally different from its previous state.

"It would not be as they remembered it," said Dupont "It would not be the same parish building that they knew and loved."

Site Plan Application- 653 Tyler Street by Joe Durwin

Tags: church reuse, demolition, Dunkin Donuts,

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Companion Corner: Princess at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
02:17PM / Wednesday, August 05, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There is an energetic girl waiting to find her new home at the Berkshire Humane Society.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.

Princess is a six year old shepherd mix that has been at the shelter for just over a month.

Canine caregiver and adoption counselor Simone Olivieri told us about Princess.

"She's very social, very friendly. When you're out walking her, she just wants to go say hi to every single new person. Loves to make new friends. She's a lot of fun. She's very active. She's very spunky. She's very playful, and she's going to need a very very active family who's going to do a lot with her."

But Princess is no stranger to the shelter. She was a puppy five years ago and got adopted quickly, but now she needs a new family to take care of her.

"She was adopted out fairly quickly as a young puppy. She's been in the same home for the past five years. Unfortunately, they were moving out of state somewhere," Olivieri said. "They could not take her with them, so she ended up coming as a return to shelter, and she came back to stay with us."

Princess needs to go to a home as the only animal or with other male dogs that are her size or bigger.

"Her perfect home would be kids eight and up. No cats. No small animals. She has quite a prey drive. She could go to a home with another dog around her size or larger, preferably a male dog. She does a little bit better with male dogs, and she's looking for a home where people are home quite a bit, so that she's not left alone for too long. She has some separation anxiety," Olivieri said.

She also needs a very active home that can let her use her energy every day, as she is very rambunctious. Especially with playing with her favorite toy, the flirt pole.

"She could use a home where people are going to give her a lot of attention and more than just a few walks a day; she's going to need lots of exercise, lots of playtime, lots of mental stimulation," Olivieri said. "She likes to learn, so someone who would be willing to take her to training classes or work on some training with her, as well as hikes, getting out and about, doing new things, different things. She is very athletic. She'd excel at things like agility, some dog sports. Just someone who is really going to want to engage and do a lot of different kinds of activities with her."

Once you let her get her energy out, she is a cuddler who wouldn't mind being held like a baby from time to time.

"She's very sweet. She's very cuddly. She's very affectionate, but she is not a couch potato. She will stay on that couch with you for a little bit, and then she's ready to go off and do something else. So she's very busy. She's very active," Olivieri said. "Once all of her exercise needs are met during the day, she will settle down nicely, and she will want to be right by your side, cuddle with you at night on the couch, sleep with you."

Princess is very healthy but does experience some anxiety and is not fully potty trained and might have the occasional accident.

"She does have a little bit of anxiety, so she is on some medication for it right now," Olivieri said. "So a lot of structure, a lot of outlets, and familiarity, getting used to a new routine and everything is gonna be really good for her. I mean, she's just lovely. Like I said, she's very social. She likes to play with other dogs. She likes to meet new people."

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