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Agents and brokers Erin Scott, left, Rebecca Gold Cellana, Seth Alden, Kim Burnham, Gary Ostrander, Jane Miller and Sarah Fleury at the grand opening reception for Burnham Gold Real Estate in North Adams. Missing are Tom Elder and Lisa Mendel.
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Burnham Gold Real Estate Opens Second Office in North Adams

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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The new office is in the Berkshire Plaza on Main Street.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Burnham Gold Real Estate threw a party and everybody came. 
 
At least it seemed that way last Thursday as the real estate company was welcomed to North Adams with open arms. 
 
"There are happenings in North Adams and we want to be a part of it," Kim Burnham said above the buzz of conversation at the office's grand opening reception. "We're hoping to bring real value back to the city, we're excited about this location."
 
The new office is at 33 Main St., in the Berkshire Plaza. The space was most recently being used for a gallery but has been split into two, with Burnham Gold taking over the front space looking out onto the plaza. 
 
Kim Burnham and Rebecca Gold Cellana started the company in 2011, just a few years after the economic collapse cooled the housing market. But they had plenty of experience and confidence in North County.  
 
Seven years later, they've opened their second location and have nine people working in the North Adams and 191 Water St., Williamstown, offices, and expect to expand by adding a couple more people. Primarily dealing in residential real estate, the agency is also moving more into commercial and land sales.
 
Real estate agents Erin Scott and Sarah Fleury talked up the possibilities in the city, Burnham said, and Greylock Works owners Salvatore Perry and Karla Rothstein further encouraged the move. 
 
"North adams is going through a revitalization with everyone moving in, and tourists coming, and the mills," Fleury said. "I think this is a perfect time for us to be here and grow here ... I think North Adams is great place for real estate." 
 
Real estate agent Seth Alden pointed to such venues as the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and the proposed model railroad museum as attractions to the area for artists and new families. 
 
"We have a quality of life that a lot of places don't offer other than the Berkshires," he said, adding that "especially watching all these mills come back to life as apartments or different avenues of income, it's really an exciting time. I think investors and young families will start to see that more and more in this area."
 
Burnham said the agency wants to bring "real value" back to the city.  
 
"I think for too long, in my opinion, the city has been undervalued and I'd like to bring some real dollars back to the sellers," she said. "There are some really great properties in this city and some of them have been overlooked, in my opinion ... 
 
"The hardest part of this job is putting a price on the real estate and we're going to do everything in our power to bring top dollar to our sellers."
 
Sarah Gaffey, a community development lender at MountainOne Bank, said the real estate market is definitely on the upswing. There's been a little lull over the holidays but it's been more active in the past weeks. 
 
She expects that to pick up more with the release of Equity Builder Program funds, part of a federal program to help qualified first-time and low-income homeowners by homes.
 
"We're hoping to release the Equity Builder funds at the and of March, so once those are released that helps a lot of first-time homebuyers," Gaffey said.  
 
Burnham Gold agents say their sales have been steady and that they are working to get more properties.
 
"We've got a ton of buyers waiting for that inventory to come on the market," Scott said. "I think it's pretty great as far as the economy goes ... people are buying and selling."
 
The crowded office reception was a mix of Williamstown Chamber of Commerce members and North Adams business people and community leaders, including several city councilors and the mayor, who were on hand to welcome the city's newest business.
 
"I'm really impressed by the turnout, which indicates a level of support for the business in general but for also for having a real estate office down here," Mayor Thomas Bernard said. "We're starting to see more interest in housing. So having these folks with the experience they have, the team based right here, is great."
 
Burnham Gold Real Estate can be reached in North Adams at 413-398-5317, in Williamstown at 413-458-0093 or be emailing info@burnhamgold.com.

Tags: grand opening,   Real Estate,   

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Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.
 
More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.
 
Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.
 
One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 
 
"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."
 
Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.
 
Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC. 
 
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