Year in Review: North Adams 2014
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Tears marked the closure of North Adams Regional Hospital in March. BMC purchsed the property and is investing $6 million into it. |
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The year 2014 started out gloomy for the city, with the abrupt closure of North Adams Regional Hospital, but it ended with a glimmer of more hopeful times to come.
The shutdown of Northern Berkshire Healthcare in March was a devastating blow not only to the city but to surrounding towns. It endangered the health of the community both medically and economically, with the potential loss of more than 500 full- and part-time jobs.
The loss of an employer on this scale had not been felt since the closure of Sprague Electric nearly 30 years before.
Northern Berkshire Healthcare had been struggling under an intimidating debt load for years. At the end of March, it closed and declared bankruptcy.
The closing galvanized the community — every Tuesday for months residents met at the American Legion to demand answers and strategize action. The state commissioned a report on health needs and the attorney general's office began an investigation that has not been released yet.
Berkshire Medical Center stepped into the role of medical provider, hiring NBH employees, purchasing the hospital campus and slowly restoring services.
But emergency services in North County are still strained and residents continue to demand the restoration of in-patient services.
Mayor Richard Alcombright was able to leverage closure into a one-time $750,000 shot in the arm. The state funds will be used for capital spending, easing pressure on a city budget that's seen its state aid drop by $3 million. The city is still trying to deal with $60 million in infrastructure issues, including complying with a U.S. Department of Justice order to bring its facilities up to Americans With Disabilities Act code.
The city also lost its paper of record after nearly 170 years. The North Adams Transcript name was retired and some of its employees were folded into the larger Berkshire Eagle. The Eagle bureau relocated from Main Street to smaller offices on Union Street.
It hasn't been all bad news: officials approved a solar array and a solar partnership expected to save more than $300,000 in energy costs.
The city also took the lead in an electrical aggregation agreement to help residents save on energy.
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The former Conte Middle School was renamed Colegrove Park Elementary School and began a $29.7 million renovation. The city is getting more than $23 million in reimbursement from the state and the school is expected to open in fall 2015.
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and the Partnership for North Adams unveiled ambitious plans for redevelopment.
The partnership, working through a for-profit company, is planning to transform the moribund Western Gateway Heritage State Park into a living and working craft and artisan destination and unveiled a vision of North Adams with green space and a new museum/rail center.
Mass MoCA received a $25 million grant that combined with private investment will mean a $60 million development of gallery space on the former Sprague campus and connections to downtown and the proposed Greylock Market.
The city is hoping to complement the plans with a $6 million MassWorks grant to create a public park and pedestrian paths alongside MoCA's endeavors. Although the application didn't make the recent cut, the city plans on tweaking the proposal and reapplying in the next round.
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The Mohawk Bike/Pedestrian Path is also coming closer to fruition after years of planning. And the Berkshire Scenic Railway is moving cars into place in anticipation of the state being ready for tourist service between the city and Adams to begin in summer 2015.
And the Hoosic River Revival is in line for nearly $9 million in state funding to revamp the area along the river to the new Heritage Park development.
The city lost a partner and champion in Mary Grant, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' 11th president, who is now a chancellor at the University of North Carolina. The college, however, is continued its investment in the city as a partner and in the $15 million renovation of Bowman Hall.
The city also saw a significant change in leadership with the inauguration of five new, and mostly young, councilors.
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