Vacant Textron building lands tenant

By Linda CarmanPrint Story | Email Story
WILLIAMSTOWN — In a Christmas homecoming, local businessman Randy Stratton has taken back the 430 Main St. building that formerly housed the Litchfield Financial Co., which he co-founded 15 years ago. Stratton’s Developer Finance Corp. and Village Ventures will relocate to the building — vacant for the past year — shortly after Jan. 1. Developer Finance Corp. is currently in the former Roberts Co. building at the corner of Main and Marshall streets in North Adams, while Village Ventures is in the General Cable mill here. “We’re back,” said an elated Stratton Tuesday, speaking by telephone from California. He said his Cold Spring Capital Management firm has taken a 23-year ground lease on the 35,000-square-foot building with owner Berkshire Property Trust, a large national real-estate-investment trust. Town Manager Peter Fohlin hailed the development. “It’s far and away the best holiday gift of the month,” Fohlin said. “Randy has been trying to get back into town in a first-class facility for a couple of years now. During that time he and I discussed a number of different possibilities. This is an excellent outcome that brings good jobs back to town.” Village Ventures Chief Operating Officer Steven Massicotte confirmed the company would relocate to the Main Street building, which previously housed Textron Inc. and before that a Grand Union supermarket. “We’ve been interested in that property for some time,” Massicotte said. “The fact that Randy has control of the building works well for us and allows us to move out of here.” He added, “We think it’s a great fit for us. There’s good parking, and it’s not too far from where we are now. One of our goals was to stay in Williamstown and we’ve accomplished that. It’s a good building.” Village Ventures’ current quarters will soon begin conversion to condominiums by the development team of Berkshire Housing Development Corp. and Keen Development. Village Ventures’ 15 employees will be in the far left portion of the Main Street building. They will have firewalls installed around their new quarters and some windows at the rear — amounting to about $61,000 in renovations, according to an application filed with the town office of inspections. Frank Mahan, CEO of Developer Finance, said, “We’ve come full circle.” Mahan, who has been with the company since 1992, said Stratton co-founded Litchfield Financial in October 1988. Ten years later, Litchfield rebuilt the vacant and dilapidated former Grand Union. Local architects Burr & McCallum designed the striking adaptive reuse. Textron bought Litchfield in November 1999 but moved out of the building — and out of town — in December 2003. Mahon said the return to the building would require “minor modifications to subdivide the space. Nothing major. We’ll take down a wall here, put up a wall there — nothing structural.” Mahan said that company, with its 30 employees, will move this winter from North Adams. The new lease began on Dec. 1. Developer Finance provides financing for rural land developers all over the country — as did Litchfield, according to Mahan, He added that the company has more than 50 land-developer clients in about 35 states. As a private company, its policy is not to release figures concerning volume. Stratton said another of his companies — Resort Development, now in Bennington, Vt. — might move into the Williamstown building. Also, he said, his wife Janet’s business, The Reading Institute, may take space there. For Village Ventures employees, the move will provide a practical benefit. “We’re on the third floor here [General Cable] with no elevator,” Massicotte said. “There, we’ll be on the first floor in the part of the building that used to be Aubuchon’s hardware.”
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Friends of Great Barrington Libraries Holiday Book Sale

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Friends of Great Barrington Libraries invite the community to shop their annual Holiday Good-as-New Book Sale, happening now through the end of the year at the Mason Library, 231 Main Street. 
 
With hundreds of curated gently used books to choose from—fiction, nonfiction, children's favorites, gift-quality selections, cookbooks, and more—it's the perfect local stop for holiday gifting.
 
This year's sale is an addition to the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce's Holiday Stroll on this Saturday, Dec. 13, 3–8 PM. Visitors can swing by the Mason Library for early parking, browse the sale until 3:00 PM, then meet Pete the Cat on the front lawn before heading downtown for the Stroll's shopping, music, and festive eats.
 
Can't make the Holiday Stroll? The book sale is open during regular Mason Library hours throughout December.
 
Proceeds support free library programming and events for all ages.
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