BoxCar Media launches iberkshires.com network of websites for each Berkshire community

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BoxCar Media, a website development and multi-media production company, announced Nov. 15 the launch of iBerkshires.com, a new website to serve Berkshire County. The iBerkshires.com network of community websites will offer each of the 32 cities and towns of the Berkshires their very own website. Each community Website will include up-to-date local news, events, business news, sports, and a comprehensive listing of local businesses, all categorized and searchable. The user can concentrate upon information on just one town in the Berkshires, and/or the whole county. Other features are aimed to help those interested in visiting the area. The Advocate has been providing news and other content for several months to the company’s Northadams.com and Williamstown.com websites and will provide this content for iBerkshires.com as well. BoxCar also will run press releases from local organizations and generate a number of its own informational features, as it has with the two original community websites. Through the use of a dynamically driven database that covers the entire Berkshires, each community site draws information relative to its specific geographic area. This insures that when you look at your town page you will find local news, events, and business links first. More articles and information for the entire county are available. The site will also contain a searchable archive to find past articles and press releases. The iBerkshires.com site is designed to be interactive and will encourage community input. Individuals can cast their votes in a variety of polls, make comments, submit press releases, forward stories to others, join class reunions, or sign up for the iBerkshires weekly e-mail newsletter. “The iBerkshires.com site is designed to be a part of the community, responding to and fulfilling the interests of Berkshire County residents,” said Ozzie Alvarez, president and CEO of BoxCar. For area businesses, the iBerkshires.com network offers marketing packages that include subject-specific targeted advertising, customizable mini web pages called StoreFronts, direct email, coupon offers, and more. Also offered is the Web Page Publishing Tool. When this tool is applied to iBerkshires StoreFront pages, it allows a business owner to make changes to his web page, such as announcing a sale, whenever he wants and instantly post it on the Internet. Other coming innovations are real estate and auto listings with 360-degree views, virtual tours of scenic locations and streaming media coverage of community events. In addition to providing a community site for residents, iBerkshires.com also intends to be a welcome center for visitors. The Visitors’ Center offers feature stories on art, music, theater, and recreational opportunities throughout the Berkshires. Each community will contain a growing directory of lodging, dining, recreation, arts, and events listings specific to that area. A visitor will first be offered information for the town where they are staying and can then search the surrounding communities or the entire Berkshires region for attractions or events that meet their interests. A work in progress “This is a work in progress,” Alvarez said while showing a reporter a preview of the site last week. “There are going to be a lot of changes to the site as we continue to grow.” Other features include the ability to personalize the site. For instance, you can adjust the site so that only one town will show up and you are only offered the features or links you are interested in. One can also add one’s own links to other websites outside of the Berkshire County area. “We’re trying to be a portal, which is a source for everyone within the community, for travel and tourism and tourists to come to, and to find everything that they need,” Alvarez said. “You can go off into the World Wide Web and find anything you want and use it in any way that you want.” Alvarez said that part of BoxCar Media is focused on what they call “Web video development.” On the site for each community there will be 360-degree video views of downtowns and other features. “You’re going to be able interactively take a look around your community,” Alvarez said. “This technology is going to allow us to bring everybody closer together.” Alvarez and the company’s director of web design, Ryan Maturski, showed a 360-video on the Website of MASS MoCA and downtown North Adams and another video of a more rural part of North Adams, seen from “Coca Cola Ledge” — high above Route 8. “Look at this. I mean, it just shows you the beauty of the Berkshires and the mountains, everything,” said Alvarez. “It’s incredible. “Instead of just hearing what people are telling you, you can go and see it, and actually get excited about coming here,” he said. “And that’s what we want to create, we want to take all of these technology tools that are available to us and really use them. “We don’t think that anybody has used a lot of the technology that we are going to be using with this site locally to really promote the companies here, to promote the communities that are here and, just as importantly, to promote tourism,” Alvarez said. A new venture Alvarez, who grew up in North Adams, cofounded Publications Resource Group (PRG) — now MindBranch — in 1992. This company is planning to move into the renovated former Roberts Co. building. In August, Alvarez stepped down as president and CEO of MindBranch to become chairman of that company’s board and to launch BoxCar Media, which is located at the Windsor Mill in North Adams. Alvarez had developed the Northadams.com and Williamstown.com websites while at PRG. “What I find exciting is working on start-up companies, building something from nothing,” he said. “It really excites me to be able to do this for Berkshire County and to create a whole new business from it.” BoxCar now has 15 employees, and some part-time free-lancers. He sees the company eventually employing 25 to 30 employees in the next year or two, with many free-lancers in addition, he said. What does he see as the mission of BoxCar Media? “I look at BoxCar as a think tank. BoxCar to me is taking what we know about technology now and trying to hit that cutting edge of technology continually, not being stagnant, using the things that everybody else uses,” he said. “I want to be able to take what we know about the Internet, the expertise that we gained in building MindBranch, add some creative aspects to it with the whole Web development portion, and see what we can come up with.” “I tell these guys in here, just keep trying different things. I don’t really care how many times we fail at something,” Alvarez said. “Eventually we’re going to hit upon something that’s incredible, that not only we can use here with iBerkshires, that we can possibly use nationally or internationally. “Not that that’s our goal, but I just have a feeling that if you have a lot of very good, creative people together in one company and you figure out a way to energize these people, to make them enthusiastic about what they’re doing, that something good is going to happen.”
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Friday Front Porch Feature: A Charming House Like New

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

The home prior to renovations.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Are you looking for a newly renovated home with great space? Then this might be the perfect fit for you!

Our Friday Front Porch is a weekly feature spotlighting attractive homes for sale in Berkshire County. This week, we are showcasing 100 Autumn Drive.

This three-bedroom, two-bathroom split level was built in 1965 and is 1,396 square feet on 0.32 acres.

The house was completely renovated recently. It includes a one-car garage, and comes with appliances including a dishwasher and stove/oven, and other major appliances.

The house is listed for $359,500.

We spoke with owners Michael Zeppieri and Chris Andrews, who did the renovations. Zeppieri is an agent with Alton and Westall Real Estate Agency.

What was your first impression when you walked into the home?

Zeppieri: I purchased this home to do a full renovation flip and saw tremendous potential in this mid-century split level home that had not been updated since it was built in the 1960s, in a great North Adams neighborhood.

 

Andrews: The house was a much different house when we first purchased it in 2022 (photo attached is from about 2010.)  The interior was painted all in dark colors and we brightened it up with neutral colors. The transformation makes you feel like you are in a totally different house.  

 

 

What were the recent renovations, any standout design features?

 

Zeppieri: The house has had a complete reconfiguration including new kitchen with high-end appliances, ceramic tiled baths, hardwood floors, new windows and roof ... just to name a few.  All a buyer has to do is move in and enjoy.

 

Andrews: Yes, we renovated the entire house.  New windows, new roof, all new custom black gutter system, new blacktop driveway, hardwood floors were installed through out the house. New kitchen and bathrooms as well as painting the exterior and interior of the house.  New paver patio in the back yard.

 

What kind of buyer would this home be ideal for?

 

Zeppieri: The buyer for this home could be a first-time homebuyer or a retiree ... the location is close to attractions in North Adams ... and the property is located in Autumn Heights, which is a very small residential development with several long-term owners.

 

Andrews: This home is truly ideal for a variety of buyers. Whether a first-time homebuyer, a small family or even someone looking to downsize from a larger home.

 

 

What do you think makes this property stand out in the current market?

 

Zeppieri: The location, price and move-in condition of this home make it a true market leader in the North Adams Market.

 

Andrews: This house is completely renovated and in a desirable location of North Adams. The natural light in the home really makes the interior pop. And with all the upgrades the home stays quite cool in the summer months.

Do you know any unique stories about the home or its history?

Zeppieri: This home was built for the Gould family in 1969 and they lived there till 2010. It was always a family home during that time in which the Goulds had two children ... and Virgina Gould managed Mohawk Forest Apartments and was a very active resident of North Adams.

 

Andrews: Built in about 1965.

 

What do the current owners love about this home?

 

Zeppieri: As the current owner it was a fun project to transform this home and get it ready for its next adventure with a new family to enjoy for many years.

 

Andrews: No one has lived in the house since we purchased the home. The new owners would be the first to live in the house since the renovations have been completed.

 

 

What would you say to a buyer trying to imagine their life in this space?

 

Andrews: I would suggest seeing the house either on a sunny day or at twilight to really get a vision of how special the home feels.  

 

You can find out more about this house on its listing here.

*Front Porch Feature brings you an exclusive to some of the houses listed on our real estate page every week. Here we take a bit of a deeper dive into a certain house for sale and ask questions so you don't have to.

 

 

 

 

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