Note: the Berkshire Mall reopened at 11 a.m. on Friday.
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Berkshire Mall is closed on Thursday because of "power issues."
The mall posted on Facebook shortly around the time the shops were expected to open at 10 a.m. saying the building was closed for Thursday. It is not clear if or when it will reopen.
The post simply reads, "Due to power issues, Mall will be closed today, Feb 22."
The Lanesborough Police Department on its Facebook page said it had "been advised that the Berkshire Mall will be closed today and until further notice."
The ownership of the mall has been struggling to pay its Eversource electric bill and there have been unconfirmed rumors for weeks that the utility would shut off power. The power is still on at Target and Regal Cinemas, which own their own sections of the building.
Solomon's Furniture, on the south end of the mall, says it is open with shortened hours and is accessible through its exterior door. The store says it has its own electrical but because there is no power for the lights in the parking lot, it will close at 5 p.m. until the mall's power issues are fixed.
The mall also lost power in the main areas on Jan. 16 and was forced to close for the day.
An Eversource spokseman said details of the power problem could not be divulged out of respect for the customer's privacy.
"We just can't discuss it," the spokesman said. "We have certainly given them a complete history."
The struggles of the Berkshire Mall have been ongoing since Berkshire Mall Realty Holdings, a subsidiary of Kohan Retail Investment Group, took over ownership. A number of stores have closed in recent years, including anchors Best Buy, Macy's, J.C. Penney, and Sears.
The owners have continuously fallen behind on bills and taxes. The ownership has received multiple demand notices for back taxes and water bills. Kohan has been taken to court several times regarding unpaid bills to vendors.
The ownership has reportedly been talking with Eversource more recently regarding the electric bill, and company officials were on site last week demanding payment. Last month, a portion of the mall lost power for a day.
The mall's importance to the town of Lanesborough is considerable. It is the largest taxpayer and may be the county's largest potential development site. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission has received a state grant to examine potential re-used of the property and the Baker Hill Road District is still awaiting state Legislation to allow it to take ownership of the mall. The hope is that the road district, which currently oversees just the Connector Road, can find a developer to repurpose the property.
The Baker Hill Road District doesn't necessarily want to own the mall, but it fears circumstances may require it to.
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Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation Scholarships
LUDLOW, Mass. — For the third year, Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation (BWPCC) will award scholarships to students from Lanesborough and Hancock.
The scholarship is open to seniors at Mount Greylock Regional High School and Charles H. McCann Technical School. BWPCC will select two students from the class of 2024 to receive $1,000 scholarships.
The scholarships will be awarded to qualifying seniors who are planning to attend either a two- or four-year college or trade school program. Seniors must be from either Hancock or Lanesborough to be considered for the scholarship. Special consideration will be given to students with financial need, but all students are encouraged to apply.
The BWPCC owns and operates the Berkshire Wind Power Project, a 12 turbine, 19.6-megawatt wind farm located on Brodie Mountain in Hancock and Lanesborough. The non-profit BWPCC consists of 16 municipal utilities located in Ashburnham, Boylston, Chicopee, Groton, Holden, Hull, Ipswich, Marblehead, Paxton, Peabody, Russell, Shrewsbury, Sterling, Templeton, Wakefield, and West Boylston, and their joint action agency, the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC).
To be considered, students must submit all required documents including a letter of recommendation from their school counselor and a letter detailing their educational and professional goals. Application and submission details will be shared with students via their school counselors. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 19.
MMWEC is a not-for-profit, public corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts created by an Act of the General Court in 1975 and authorized to issue tax-exempt debt to finance a wide range of energy facilities. MMWEC provides a variety of power supply, financial, risk management and other services to the state's consumer-owned, municipal utilities.
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