A development team with previous substantial projects in Berkshire County has announced plans to renovate the former General Cable Co. mill on Water Street for apartments and offices.
The team of Berkshire Housing Development Corp. and Keen Development Corp. of Cambridge yesterday announced plans to renovate the former General Cable Mill in Williamstown into 65 apartments and offices totaling 40,000 square feet.
The partnership, known as Cable Mills LLC, is in the final stages of its acquisition of the nine-acre Water Street property from Kentucky-based General Cable Industries.
The building’s development is considered crucial for the emerging identity of Water Street as the second, along with Spring Street, of the town’s village business district.
Industrial past
The familiar site has a long history as an industrial complex. Built in 1873, its facilities manufactured textiles until the 1930s. Over the subsequent six decades, they produced wire and cable. General Cable closed its Williamstown operations in 1996, but continued to maintain the site and leased a small amount of space to a variety of local tenants.
The Berkshire/Keen team will restore the main four-story brick mill building, as well as several of the attached one- and two-story outbuildings. Preliminary plans call for the 70,000 square foot main structure to be converted into 65 mixed-income rental apartments, while the outbuildings will become approximately 40,000 square feet of commercial space. In addition to the preservation of these historic buildings, the plans will provide improved public access to the banks of the Green River, which flows directly behind the site.
The developers hope the property’s current tenants, which include a locally based venture capital firm and several homegrown technology-based companies, will stay on and eventually occupy the new commercial space. The development team has already begun discussions with the tenants to ensure a smooth
transition.
The Cable Mills team expects to spend the next several months refining reuse plans and obtaining necessary permits. With financing from MassDevelopment, minor environmental cleanup will commence this fall. Some of the site’s less important outbuildings will also be demolished during this time in order to reveal the original layout of the more significant structures. Full-scale renovations are expected to begin next summer, with completion expected in 2005.
Plan met with enthusiasm
“We see this as a win-win-win for Williamstown and the region,†said Berkshire Housing President Peter J. Lafayette. “We will be preserving a historic landmark, providing new housing and enhanced commercial space, and opening a new window on a beautiful but underutilized natural resource.†Lafayette noted that Town officials have thus far been very supportive.
Peter Fohlin, Williamstown Town Manager, is very pleased with this turn of events. “This is a solid proposal for an important historic site,†Fohlin said. “We did not want to see General Cable fall to the same fate as Photech. This is great for the buildings, great for the neighborhood, and great for the town.â€
According to Robert Kuehn (pronounced “Keenâ€), President of Keen Development, the General Cable site is ideal for both housing and commercial uses. “With its close proximity to the center of Williamstown and the lovely backdrop of the river and mountains, you really could not ask for a more attractive site,†Kuehn said. “And the main structure has a configuration that’s ideal for creating apartments - flexible layouts, high ceilings, and big windows.â€
He added that businesses are often attracted to converted industrial space because it can be easily adapted to suit their diverse space requirements.
The nonprofit Berkshire Housing Development Corporation has been active in the development and management of mixed-income housing and commercial space throughout the county for more than 30 years.
The organization is known for its innovative developments and its ability to assemble complex financing packages that include both private and public funding. Its properties under management range from elderly, family, and special needs rental housing to condominiums, industrial buildings, and commercial properties.
Cambridge-based Keen Development specializes in historic rehabilitation and adaptive reuse, and has a long-standing dedication to the creation of attractive and affordable housing. The company has developed more than 3,000 units of housing over the past 30 years, and many of its developments have been recognized with statewide and national awards. Keen frequently joint ventures with community-based organizations and participates in public-private partnerships. The firm collaborated with Berkshire Housing in the rehabilitation of the Central Annex in Pittsfield and the construction of The Pines, a 41-unit mixed-income condominium complex overlooking Lake Pontoosuc in Pittsfield.
BHS oversight
The property will be professionally managed immediately and long term by Berkshire Housing Services, Inc. (“BHSIâ€), a subsidiary of Berkshire Housing Development Corporation. BHSI manages 25 rental, condominium and commercial properties throughout Berkshire County. In North Berkshire County it manages Holy Family Terrace and Proprietors Fields, affordable senior housing complexes, as well as Hemlock Brook Park and Hemlock Brook Estates Condominiums and the Greylock Condominiums.
Rounding out the Cable Mills team is the award-winning Boston-based architectural firm Finegold Alexander + Associates. FA+A has long been a recognized pioneer in historic preservation and adaptive reuse and enjoys a national reputation for the restoration of such landmarks as Ellis Island. The firm has worked extensively with Keen in the past. FA+A also designed Proprietors Fields in Williamstown in the late 1970’s.
Contacted yesterday, Donald Westall of Alton & Westall real estate brokers, whose offices are on Water Street, said, “Great.â€
“I think it’s terrific, I really do,†Westall said. “That mill building is so underutilized, and Water Street can benefit from people and traffic.
“It’ll beautify the area and produce some tax revenue for the town,†Westall said. “I think it’s a very positive development. The developer has done things very deliberately. I think they’re they’ll be successful.
“It’ll be a good job, which is fitting for Williamstown,†he said. “I just think it'll be a real positive energy-producing project for all the merchants, Water Street and Spring Street. It’s great. It’s been a long time coming, but it will be very worthwhile.â€
Lafayette said the environmental cleanup, which had proved a stumbling block in the past, is now considered “not a major obstacle
“We’re getting prices on renovations and figuring out how do you make the project work,†he said. “Over next four or five months we’ll be working with town officials,filtering ideas, deciding what we need to have a viable project.â€
Berkshire Housing, he said, started working on the building in 1998, in concert with groups exploring the possibility of development. Berkshire Housing and Keen Development have been exploring the project since 2000, he said.
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Lanesborough Town Meeting to Vote Budget, Bylaws & Vehicle Purchases
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Tuesday's annual town meeting includes a $14 million operating budget, new short-term rentals, accessory dwelling units and sign bylaws, and free cash article appropriations.
Voters will gather at Lanesborough Elementary School on June 9 at 6 p.m. to decide on 20 warrant articles.
The fiscal 2027 budget is up a little over 10 percent. Some of the main increases are the Mount Greylock Regional School District and McCann Technical School: the McCann assessment is up more than 30 percent based on factors including enrollment and the school renovation project, and Mount Greylock's is up 11 percent.
Article 11 is for the town to vote to approve from free cash the sum of $16,298.48 for the McCann Technical School roof and window replacement project so as not to impact the budget. Article 3 is appropriate $7,586,284 for Mount Greylock Regional School assessment.
Another notable increase was in life and health insurance, showing an increase of about 26 percent.
Ambulance Director Jen Weber is planning 24-hour coverage, which means more staff and a hike in her budget. One of the articles asks the town to appropriate $234,100 to operate the Ambulance Enterprise Fund for salaries and expenses.
Many town departments are looking for new vehicles. The Fire Department is looking to replace its outdated 1996 fire engine. There are two articles related to the truck at a total of $813,366. Article 12 would transfer $225,000 from free cash into the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund; Article 13 would transfer $605,000 from the fund and authorize the borrowing of $208,366.08.
The total includes a $100,000 contingency cost to cover any additional costs if a 2026 model-year chassis cannot be secured before new emissions standards go into effect in 2027.
The board at its last meeting moved the $225,000 transfer to come before the borrowing article, changing the stabilization number. If the $225,000 is not voted on, then they will amend the next article's number on the floor, subtracting the $225,000. This shows the borrowing number significantly lower.
Article 17 asks for the transfer of $80,000 from free cash to replace a police cruiser.
Police Chief Rob Derksen's aim is to replace one vehicle every other year, meaning the oldest vehicle gets replaced about every 10 years.
He stressed that if delayed this year, the town may have to double up in a future year to get back on schedule, and that paying later usually costs more. The article will ask for $80,000 from free cash, the vehicles used to be funded by the BHRD.
Lastly, the Highway Department is looking to replace a 2014 International dump truck that will be a total of $330,000 and will take two to three years to receive.
Money will be used from last year's approval of $250,000 from free cash for the replacement of a 2012 highway front-end loader that was underspent $49,261. Town meeting is being asked to approve a transfer of $53,274.85 from free cash and the use of $227,464 from funds from the Sale of Town Real Estate to fund the balance.
Other free cash proposals include $1,200 to purchase software to support tracking and ongoing maintenance schedules of town-owned vehicles; $42,000 for the replacement of the Highway Department's storage shed roof, $200,000 to reduce the tax levy.
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