Pittsfield ConCom Accepts Donation In Lieu of Riverfront Development Mitigation
 James Scalise is hoping to turn an empty, but historic, warehouse on Dalton Avenue into retail space. |
James Scalise of SK Design purchased the former 1929 warehouse located at 999 Dalton Ave. as Freight House Reality with the intent of developing it into retail space. The building near Berkshire Crossings used to be a storage facility for Crane & Co.
Since 2012, Scalise has been weaving through the city's permitting process with the most recent being the Conservation Commission. Part of the project includes altering the lands on the riverfront as the company builds out parking, which conflicts with wetlands protection laws.
The geography of the building left Scalise with little room to design mitigation for the affected areas. Instead, the Conservation Commission is allowing him to donate into its Clean Rivers Fund.
Conservation Agent Rob Van Der Kar said the fund is under the Conservation Commission's purview and is used for things like cleaning up downed trees, debris, or keeping canoe accesses open. It hasn't been funded in recent years but remains active.
"This is a unique opportunity to put money into that account," Chairman James Conant said. "We'll have some funding at our disposal to tackle these issues."
Scalise determined the value of the "development rights" to the riverfront area for a total of $32,124, which will be donated. His method was to determine the difference in land value between having that area being restricted and having it be fully developable. From there, he assigned a percentage to the two parcels based to determine the worth of development rights. For one parcel, he determined the rights are worth $7,124, which was 75 percent of that difference, and for the other he determined it was $25,000, which was 80 percent of that difference.
"Because this is on the side of a four-lane highway, the riverfront areas has a diminished value," Scalise said.
Van Der Kar said, "the evaluation and the way it was done seems fair" and the Conservation Commission approved accepting the donation in lieu of forcing mitigation work.
The geography doesn't allow for much room for riverfront mitigation but also isn't worth much as conservation lands so both Scalise and Conant said the contribution is a win-win situation.
 The warehouse at 999 Dalton Ave. is right near the Berkshire Crossing Shopping Center. |
He then received the Community Development Board's approval to change the zoning of that parcel from a residential restriction to allow for commercial use. That plan caused heavy resistance from residents of the Morningview Drive neighborhood, who felt more commercial land in that area will trigger even more congestion.
Morningview Drive has become somewhat of a short cut for drivers looking to avoid the busy Coltsville area. Residents asked for traffic calming measures to make the road less enticing for those looking to shave off a few minutes of their commute.
Following that, he floated the idea of razing the building and construction a new one to make the project for financially feasible. The building had always been a warehouse and never had potable water, heating or other infrastructure.
But that idea faced heated outrage from those who were concerned about the historical value in the property. Opponents of seeing it razed accused Scalise of changing the zoning under the auspices of redeveloping the building — gaining support from historians — and then switching up the plans. They said the warehouse, which currently only stores items for Soldier On, was part of the area's long history with Crane & Co.
The Historical Commission then put a six-month hold on the demolition.
Tags: community development, conservation commission, historical building, redevelopment,
