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Rising Glass Brewery will move into the former Eagles Hall after a substantial renovation. Although some work has begun, the project has been delayed because of the pandemic.

North Adams Planners Approve Planned Brewery Patio

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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The Planning Board wrapped up their meeting in 15 minutes Monday.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Planning Board approved some design changes to the planned Rising Glass Brewery that will now include a patio.
 
"Since the pandemic, people have really taken to outdoor seating. So we want to double down on that," applicant Jonathan Spinney said to the Planning Board Monday.
 
Plans for the proposed brewery at the former Eagles Hall, on 515 Curran Highway, go back to 2018. At the time, applicant Spinney said a substantial remodel of the hall, which closed in 2017, would have to be done.
 
Spinney said he wanted to provide the board with some kind of update, especially with such a large "pause" in the middle of the project during the pandemic.
 
He said once they took the building apart they saw an opportunity to attach a large patio on the front of the building. He said they have essentially rotated their original design, and the overall footprint remains the same.
 
"Other than that there has been no change," he said.
 
Spinney said the patio would be covered and attached. He was aware that designs would have to include fire suppression.
 
The board had no questions, and Vice-chairman Brian Miksic said he was happy to see the project moving along.
 
"I am glad you are still trucking forward with this project through a difficult time," he said. "I can't wait to see it come to fruition."
 
The board approved the modification contingent upon seeing plans. Spinney said the plans should be completed this fall.
 
In other business, the Planning Board approved a special permit request from 413 Bistro LLC for property located at 40 Main Street, the former Richmond Grill at the Holiday Inn.
 
"We are doing another restaurant," said Paul Brassard, who runs the Williamstown eatery Berkshire Palate with his three sons.
 
"That is all of the information that I need," Miksic said. 
 
Brassard told the Licensing Board in May that they plan to shut up shop in Williamstown and move their entire operation to North Adams.
 
The Richmond Grill has been closed for at least a year now. 
 
 
 

Tags: Planning Board,   restaurant,   

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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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