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Two companies have expanded from North County to West Street in Pittsfield.

Steepleview Realty Expands Into Pittsfield

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Chris Lipa, Paul Segala and Jennifer Segala of Steepleview Realty and Kristine Hurley of Downtown Pittsfield Inc. cut the ribbon on the new location Friday.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — For years, Jennifer Segala sold real estate through other agencies and a list grew in her head — a list of what not to do.
 
Sixteen years ago that list became the core mission of Steepleview Reality. She started her own company focused first on customer service in an attempt to shed the "sleazy salesmen" reputation some real estate companies had been gaining.
 
On Friday, Segala and her husband, Paul, held a grand opening on their third location, which will continue to build on what has become one of the county's leading real estate companies.
 
"We just started developing and in five years, we became a leading company," Segala said inside the new West Street office.
 
Steepleview is now up to 19 agents and has sold more property unit than any others in the county. Segala had been growing the company's portfolio from North County — where their home base is in Adams and with an office in North Adams — toward South County.
 
Through the website, more and more people from Central Berkshire were finding their way to Steepleview. They began to focus on growing the company's central county market share.
 
"We started doing a lot of business in Pittsfield," Segala said.
 
And now they've opted to expand even more. She brought on five new agents from the Pittsfield region and then signed a lease for the former Pittsfield Gazette office.
 
"This is definitely an expansion. We've added team members and we will add more," she said. 
 
In a short time, the suite was fixed up and on Aug. 1 the small suite opened. The suite is a satellite while their home base on Park Street in Adams remains the headquarters.
 
Segala says currently the real estate market is somewhat in balance. While she has about double the amount of properties than typical for sale, which typically means the market is over saturated, the demand has been keeping up, she said. 
 
The majority — about 80 percent — of Steepleview's properties are residential but Segala certainly has a share of commercial sales and clients as well. 
 
It isn't just sales for Steepleview, Segala is certified to teach courses about the real estate and licensing. Steepleview is licensed to sell property in Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Florida.
 
Steepleview is the second North County business to expand in that building. Right next door to the new office is District Kitchen and Bar, a venture of Jared Decoteau, owner of Public Eat and Drink in North Adams. The restaurant opened last month.

Tags: new business,   Real Estate,   ribbon cutting,   

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ADOPTED! Companion Corner: Cali and Kyzer at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

Great news, Kyzer and Cali found a home for Christmas already! Still looking for a new friend for the holidays? There are plenty of dogs and cats and small animals at Berkshire Humane who would love to go home with you.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a bonded dog pair awaiting a new family at the Berkshire Humane Society.

Kyzer and Cali are both poodles. Kyzer is the male and is 7 years old, a quite a bit bigger than his sister Cali, who is a miniature of Kyzer and 8 years old.

Canine adoption counselor Rhonda Cyr introduced us to the two.

"They came from a household that couldn't hold on to them, and it sounds like they may have been abandoned by their previous owner with somebody else, and so they came to us looking for a new home," she said.

The two love to be around you and snuggle. But both are very happy dogs.

"Kyzer is 7 years old, and his personality is that he kind of wants to be in everything. He's very loving, very snuggly, as you can tell. And Callie here, she's 8 years old, and she is kind of like the life of the party," said Cyr. "She wants to tell you everything about her day, and she's a little bit of a little ham."

The two are considered seniors and really like soft treats as Cali just had a few teeth removed and Kyzer has a tooth procedure coming up.

"Currently, they really like soft treats, because they are both on the senior side of things. So they have had some dental work, so they are really in need of something softer. They are not big chewers at this age, really, their main focus right now is just really socializing and cuddling," Cyr said.

The two would love a quiet home with someone who wants to snuggle. They shouldn't go to a home with bigger dogs but if you have a dog, you can bring them in for a visitation with the poodles to see if they will get along. Cats will be fine and the preference is for older and more responsible children so that the pups don't get hurt, as they are senior citizens.

"The perfect home for them would be a quiet home that's not too active. Like I said, they're very social, so they could handle some visitors," she said. "They're very friendly, but I don't think that they would really enjoy any other dogs in the home."

Poodles need to be regularly groomed, and the prospective adopter will have to keep an eye on their health. Kyzer has a heart murmur that needs to be monitored. This doesn't mean he is in bad health, as he could live a perfectly normal life, but he will need to be checked by a veterinary specialist routinely.

"Ideally, he would go to a home that could provide further health care with a specialist in cardiac care. And you know, he could very well live out the rest of his life comfortably and happy," Cyr said. "We just don't have all that information at the moment, but I think that you know the way he's going right now. He's got a good spirit, and he seems to be pretty happy."

The shelter is hoping the to get them a home for the holidays.

"We would love to get them a home in time for the holidays. They've been here since the eighth of November, and they're really, really looking as much as the staff loves them here, we're really looking to get them into a home and somewhere nice and cozy so they can spend the rest of their life together," she said.

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