Hotel On North Paves Way For More Pittsfield Parking

By Joe DurwinPittsfield Correspondent
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The boutique hotel is expected to open next May.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A revision of downtown zoning districts that would allow Main Street Hospitality to develop additional parking area for a planned boutique hotel sailed easily through its first hurdle to approval on Tuesday.
 
In a public hearing that lasted less than three minutes, the Community Development Board looked favorably on the proposed amendment to city zoning, which would expand the Downtown Business District ("B-D") to include three parcels on the east side of Center Street and south side of Union Street. Two of these parcels are currently split zoned business and residential, while another is entirely in the high density residential zone.
 
"This amendment would create uniformity for the block, and the proposed change is consistent with the commercial nature of the surrounding properties," Michelle Butler, an attorney with Cain, Hibbard & Myers, said on behalf of RN Construction 
 
RN Construction is under contract to purchase the vacant lot at the corner of Central and Union, currently owned by Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity.  
 
"Our client, along with the owners of the properties abutting the Habitat lot, are requesting that the zoning map be amended so that these parcels are classified B-D," said Butler, who indicated the intended use of the lot will be for overflow parking from the Hotel On North. Use as a parking lot is prohibited under the property's current zoning classification.
 
Without questions or deliberation, the board unanimously voted to recommend that the City Council approve the proposed zoning amendment. If approved by the Council, the contractor will return to the board for site plan and special permit approval for the planned parking lot project.
 
The re-zoning proposal marks the third round of approvals secured from the board associated with the renovation of the historic Besse Clark department store building on North Street into a 45-room boutique hotel, tentatively slated to open in May 2015.
 
Main Street Hospitality, which operates the Red Lion Inn, Porches Inn and the Williams Inn, announced last week that it had secured financing from MountainOne Bank for the $15 million project, which includes extensive structural renovations to the two connected buildings.

Tags: motels, hotels,   North Street,   parking,   zoning,   

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Pittsfield CPA Committee Funds Half of FY24 Requests

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A few projects are not getting funded by the Community Preservation Committee because of a tight budget.

The projects not making the cut were in the historic preservation and open space and recreation categories and though they were seen as interesting and valuable projects, the urgency was not prevalent enough for this cycle.

"It's a tough year," Chair Danielle Steinmann said.

The panel made its recommendations on Monday after several meetings of presentations from applications. They will advance to the City Council for final approval.  

Two cemetery projects were scored low by the committee and not funded: A $9,500 request from the city for fencing at the West Part Cemetery as outlined in a preservation plan created in 2021 and a $39,500 request from the St. Joseph Cemetery Commission for tombstone restorations.

"I feel personally that they could be pushed back a year," Elizabeth Herland said. "And I think they're both good projects but they don't have the urgency."

It was also decided that George B. Crane Memorial Center's $73,465 application for the creation of a recreational space would not be funded. Herland said the main reason she scored the project low was because it didn't appear to benefit the larger community as much as other projects do.

There was conversation about not funding The Christian Center's $34,100 request for heating system repairs but the committee ended up voting to give it $21,341 when monies were left over.

The total funding request was more than $1.6 million for FY24 and with a budget of $808,547, only about half could be funded. The panel allocated all of the available monies, breaking down into $107,206 for open space and recreation, $276,341 for historic preservation, and $425,000 for community housing.

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