North Adams finally acquires historic landmark

By Glenn DrohanPrint Story | Email Story
The H.W. Clark Biscuit Co. mill complex, as seen from Ashland Street to the north. (Photo by Glenn Drohan)
NORTH ADAMS — After a land-court battle that lasted nearly five years, the city has quietly taken over the historic H.W. Clark Biscuit Co. mill complex on Ashland Street, following the death of its former owner, William P. Foley, in March. Mayor John Barrett III said he believes the best use of the mill’s massive, four-story main building, which totals 100,000 square feet, and the connecting 47,000-square-foot building to its north would be for housing. He said he hopes to have them cleaned out and ready to advertise for sale by next spring, pending approval of the City Council. “We’ve waited a long time for this, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do,” Barrett said. “First we want to see if there’s any contamination, then get it cleaned up and proceed from there. I think it would be ideal for housing — probably it could be condominiums, or artists’ lofts like the ones Eric Rudd is building on Union Street [in the Eclipse Mill]. It’s close to the college, so there are a lot of potential uses for it.” Barrett acknowledged the city could have moved more quickly on taking the property for back property taxes but said officials backed off because they knew Foley had been having severe health problems over the past year. “We waited out of courtesy and understanding. The family was very cooperative in all of this,” he said. Foley tried unsuccessfully to unseat Barrett in the 1993 mayoral election, running on a platform of turning the city into “the Shangri-La of New England,” by creating, among other things, a gigantic fish farm at the former Sprague Electric Co. on Marshall Street (now the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art). He bought the two buildings in the complex from MacDonald Properties Inc. for $97,600 in 1997. As part of the deal, he had agreed to pay about $23,000 in back property taxes MacDonald had owed. However, he later backed out of the deal because he claimed the mill was the headquarters of a church he had founded, the Interfaith Church of Divine Cosmogony. Back taxes in 2001 totaled $43,500, and Foley owed an additional $1,000 in unpaid water bills, according to local records. The city, charging that the complex was not used as a church, sued Foley in land court in March 1999 and won a decision late the following year to take the property, but he later appealed. The court denied that appeal late last year and granted the city “absolute ownership.” A further appeal was denied. Barrett said he hopes a developer will come forward to renovate and preserve the mill, much like Boston businessman Michael Capizzi restored the Berkshire Hathaway Mill in Adams more than a decade ago. The price tag for that project was over $5 million. “It’s part of historic North Adams, a link to our past, and we should do anything we can restore it and find a re-use,” Barrett said of the mill complex. “When you stop and think, Herbert Clark was a major player in this city, both as a civic leader and philanthropist. It would be nice to preserve his legacy with this building.” Clark’s company baked biscuits, cookies and other products in the mill from 1907 to 1954 before going out of business. The earliest known use of the mill, which dates back to at least 1888, according to city records, was as the Whitman Canedy & Co. Shoe Factory. After 1954, the factory played home to a number of businesses, ranging from several warehouse companies to a restaurant and two machine companies. A 20-foot-high sign advertising the Tartan Machine Co. still towers above the main building and is visible throughout the city, even though that business left in the early 1990s. The two buildings have gone mostly unused, except for storage since then. Along with the two mill buildings, the city acquired the back parking lot, but ownership of the side lot to the north is still tied up in land court. Barrett said he hopes that situation will be resolved soon. Aside from that, he said, the roof will have to be replaced, environmental studies completed and the interior thoroughly cleaned. Some of H.W. Clark’s old ovens are still on the second floor of the three-story main building. “It’s very large and structurally sound,” Barrett said. “The older section is like a fortress.” He said he “fully expects to see it on the market” within the next year or so. “The city will not just sell it carte blanch,” he cautioned. “We would expect part of the request for proposals would include some sort of housing. I will present it to the City Council at some point in time, as we progress. It’s all speculation right now because we haven’t had a chance to look at it carefully.” Barrett said he is also waiting to move on advertising the former Jarisch Paper Box Co. property on nearby American Legion Drive because he believes the economy has not recovered enough to find a willing buyer to create a commercial property there. “The time isn’t right for that yet,” he said. “But one thing I’ve learned is that things change rather quickly. I would like to see that developed commercially, and I believe it will happen.”
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Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the snowplows for Highway District 1 has a new name: "The Blizzard Boss."
 
The name comes from teacher Gina Wagner's fifth-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School. 
 
The state Department of Transportation announced the winners of the fourth annual "Name A Snowplow" contest on Monday. 
 
The department received entries from public elementary and middle school classrooms across the commonwealth to name the 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during the 2025/2026 winter season. 
 
The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during winter operations. 
 
"Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your creativity allows us to highlight to all, the importance of the work performed by our workforce," said  interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng.  
 
"Our workforce takes pride as they clear snow and ice, keeping our roads safe during adverse weather events for all that need to travel. ?To our contest winners and participants, know that you have added some fun to the serious take of operating plows. ?I'm proud of the skill and dedication from our crews and thank the public of the shared responsibility to slow down, give plows space and put safety first every time there is a winter weather event."
 
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