PEDA has received position feedback from EDA officials about its grant application.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — PEDA is still awaiting word on a $2.5 million federal grant for improvements to the William Stanley Business Park.

 

The city applied for the grant through the U.S. Economic Development Administration early in the spring. The grant would be matched by $2.5 million from other grants, resulting in $5 million worth of infrastructure work at the park.

 

"It's been a long time since the city has received an EDA grant," Pittsfield Economic Development Authority Executive Director Corydon Thurston said Wednesday.

 

The grant would help the following construction projects: additional site work like driveways, parking lot lights, retaining walls and landscaping; a water line extension on Woodlawn Avenue; a traffic signal at Woodlawn Avenue and East Street; the extension of a fiber optic cable from Lyman Street through the property; the installation of a photovoltaic array; and the purchase of additional manufacturing equipment.

 

The money is eyed not only to enhance the Berkshire Innovation Center but also to make the former General Electric land more attractive for business growth. The city was the main sponsor of the grant but based on feedback from the regional EDA administrator, PEDA voted on Wednesday to take over as the lead sponsor.

 

"The regional administrator thought it would be better to be a PEDA application with support of the city," Thurston said.

 

The grant would pay for the BIC to become a "community anchor" with the Massachusetts Broadband Institute's program. City officials have said the high-speed internet expansion would give companies - both new and existing - a secondary option to hook up at a more competitive cost.

 

Mayor Daniel Bianchi at first suggested the city borrow $60,000 for the project through the capital budget, but he faced resistance from the City Council. Even after the mayor opted to cut that proposal in half, that $30,000 request nearly sunk the 2016 capital budget because Councilor At-large Churchill Cotton refused to support the budget with that in there. Cotton's opposition led the City Council to be short of the two-thirds majority to approve the budget. Ward 7 Councilor Anthony Simonelli ultimately changed his vote to pass the budget.

 

Should PEDA win this EDA grant, the mayor previously said the $30,000 wouldn't be spent. So far, Thurston remains "cautiously optimistic" that the organization will win the grant. He said the fact that the city had been shut out of grants from the EDA for so long will help the city's case.

 

"I think this is the appropriate approach," Bianchi said.

 

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission has supported the grant application. BRPC's efforts in recent years to create the Comprehensive Economic Development Committee and its work to come up with development priorities opened up the EDA funding sources.

 

The Berkshire Innovation Center is still on pace for an October groundbreaking, Thurston said. A construction manager is expected to be brought on board in the coming weeks, and in September bids for construction will be awarded. The City Council approved a number of leases and agreements locking in long-term agreements for the science center.

 

Bianchi said Williams College has signed a memorandum of agreement to become the latest to become involved in the center. Williams joins a number of other educational institutions to be involved with the project. 

 

The building will be a cooperative space with various companies and educational institutions in the life sciences and advanced manufacturing industries using the areas for research and development. It will be overseen by the newly formed nonprofit Berkshire Innovation Center Inc. and will be constructed at the William Stanley Business Park.

 

"There is great momentum," Bianchi said.