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PEDA Board Chairman Mick Callahan last week outlined some of the many challenges on the site where Walmart wants to build.
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Walmart Proposal Draws Curious to Business Park Open Houses

By Joe DurwiniBerkshires Correspondent
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The 15-acre Site 9 in the William Stanley Business Park is being considered for a Walmart Supercenter.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Walmart store proposed for the William Stanley Business Park has generated a lot of discussion didn't translate into an influx of visitors at the park.

But those who did attend the three recent open houses expressed their interest and concerns about the controversial project.

"I think everyone came with pretty much that focus in mind," said Pittsfield Economic Development Authority Executive Director Corydon Thurston, who told iBerkshires the three dates — held on Aug. 24, 31, and Sept. 14 — drew a combined crowd of "about a couple dozen."

"Everyone that came wanted to see where [the proposed site] was, and how it would be oriented, and things of that nature," Thurston said. He added that along with its primary mission of generating interest in the developable parcels of the park, the tours were also an important part of PEDA's attempt to maintain public transparency.

"We want people to feel comfortable, and know that we're not hiding anything," he said. "We're trying to do our best, and showcase the property."

These three open houses follow an event in May focused specifically on the Waterstone Development proposal to site a 190,000 Walmart Supercenter on a challenged lot in the small urban business park near Tyler Street. Another public presentation will be held by Waterstone on Monday, Sept. 19, at 6 p.m. at Morningside School.

Touring the business park, PEDA Board Chairman Mick Callahan outlined some of the many challenges to that particular piece of property, which includes millions of dollars in re-grading and remediation to be shovel-ready for any new development.

On a typical "greensfield," or uncontaminated, site, Callahan noted, the average cost of development may range anywhere from $80,000 to $175,000 per acre. At the uniquely challenged "Teens" site (so dubbed because it once held General Electric buildings numbered in the teens), the cost will be closer to a half-million dollars per acre. Waterstone's current proposal to develop the site will total approximately $30 million to $32 million, an expenditure Callahan called "the largest private investment in Pittsfield in many years."



Retail would be essentially limited to this portion of the business park in PEDA's emerging vision. Additional parcels on the East Street side of the park are more suited, he said, to "light industrial, office, and R&D uses," and the more buildable areas on this side of the rail line that segments the property could accommodate as many as a half dozen such companies, depending on their size.

On the Kellogg Street side, across the newly opened Woodlawn Avenue Bridge, another small lot already contains a buildable foundation for a medium-size facility, what Callahan called "an affordable opportunity, that has a lot of possibility."

"In the scheme of things, we're a very small business park, compared to a lot of what we're competing with," Callahan told iBerkshires. "Our goal is to build the tax base and create jobs."

Not only does PEDA believe that Waterstone's Walmart proposal will address both goals, but the North Carolina-based developer has eluded to its interest in working with PEDA on other non-retail projects at the park.

"Waterstone is a multi-dimensional developer that is now nationwide. They have industrial, commercial, warehousing, retail, and R&D," said Callahan, adding "we've also talked to them a bit about 'where do we go from here.'"

In the meantime, PEDA remains open to all interested parties, and will arrange viewings for anyone who wants to know more.

"We're happy to show people the property absolutely any time that we have time. They don't have to wait for an open house," said Thurston.


Tags: business park,   PEDA,   Walmart,   

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North Adams Regional Reopens With Ribbon-Cutting Celebration

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

BHS President and CEO Darlene Rodowicz welcomes the gathering to the celebration of the hospital's reopening 10 years to the day it closed. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The joyful celebration on Thursday at North Adams Regional Hospital was a far cry from the scene 10 years ago when protests and tears marked the facility's closing
 
Hospital officials, local leaders, medical staff, residents and elected officials gathered under a tent on the campus to mark the efforts over the past decade to restore NARH and cut the ribbon officially reopening the 136-year-old medical center. 
 
"This hospital under previous ownership closed its doors. It was a day that was full of tears, anger and fear in the Northern Berkshire community about where and how residents would be able to receive what should be a fundamental right for everyone — access to health care," said Darlene Rodowicz, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems. 
 
"Today the historic opportunity to enhance the health and wellness of Northern Berkshire community is here. And we've been waiting for this moment for 10 years. It is the key to keeping in line with our strategic plan which is to increase access and support coordinated county wide system of care." 
 
Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, under the BHS umbrella, purchased the campus and affiliated systems when Northern Berkshire Healthcare declared bankruptcy and closed on March 28, 2014. NBH had been beset by falling admissions, reductions in Medicare and Medicaid payments, and investments that had gone sour leaving it more than $30 million in debt. 
 
BMC was able to reopen the ER as an emergency satellite facility and slowly restored and enhanced medical services including outpatient surgery, imaging, dialysis, pharmacy and physician services. 
 
But it would take a slight tweak in the U.S. Health and Human Services' regulations — thank to U.S. Rep. Richie Neal — to bring back inpatient beds and resurrect North Adams Regional Hospital 
 
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