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The Pittsfield Economic Development Authority board meets at the Berkshire Innovation Center on Wednesday. This is the first time the board has met in person in more than a year.

Cultivators Berkshire Kind to Begin Site Work at William Stanley Business Park in the Fall

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Marijuana cultivator Berkshire Kind is "moving along" with its development in the William Stanley Business Park but has an extended timeline and budget.

In the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority's first meeting since fall 2020, interim Director Michael Coakley reported that the cultivators' goal is to start site work and foundation work this fall.

"Everything takes longer than they had planned and everything is going to cost them more than they had planned," Coakley said.

Owners Philip and Jeremy Silverman were faced with an unexpected change when they had to alter the way they are doing their foundation. After that is completed, they will return to PEDA for a finalized design review and will obtain a building permit from the Cannabis Control Commission.  

"Right now they are trying to purchase the steel, and steel prices have gone up dramatically in the wait time," Coakley said. "They're thinking that they will receive the steel around December, but if they have the foundations they can start quickly."

He organized a conference call with the state Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to "get communication going" and is now finalizing all the construction documents for the build.  

In October 2019, PEDA voted to support Berkshire Kind's intent to purchase land in the business park and erect a 20,000-square foot grow facility.


The proposed Tier 2 facility will stand on Site 4, which is across the street from the future Berkshire Innovation Center and the Silverman brothers plan to spend between $2.8 million and $2.9 million on the facility.

Berkshire Kind plans to open in two phases: phase 1, where it will construct the complete facility but for that first year will only use half of it until phase 2 where the entire facility is used.

The company expects to hire 12 full-time employees in the initial phase and then bring another eight to 10 onboard.

In October 2020, the brothers received a provisional license from the state Cannabis Control Commission, which regulates the marijuana industry in the commonwealth.

Also in this meeting, PEDA received a financial audit presentation from auditor David Irwin, CPA.  In total assets, the organization has $13.9 million, which is down about $500,000, and total liabilities of $6.9 million.

The panel also discussed grant applications including a $1.1 million Site Readiness & Brownfields grants, the Community One Stop Infrastructure Program, and federal funding opportunities, and a PEDA office relocation from 81 Kellogg St. because of the building's poor condition.

The budget will be presented at the next meeting.


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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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