U.S. Sen. Edward Markey was in the Berkshires on Thursday to visit the county's two cities. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. Sen. Edward Markey is impressed by the city's effort to spark economic development in the downtown and beyond.

He spoke with officials and stakeholders Thursday at Dottie's Coffee Lounge and browsed a couple of North Street businesses. After visiting Carr Hardware and Dolc'e Rose Beauty Supply, he ended the downtown visit with an ice cream cone from Empire Pizza. 

"It's pretty clear to me that the businesses are feeling a clear uptick in their opportunities, their economic outlook for the future," said Markey, who had made a visit to North Adams earlier. 

"And they are excited about the mayor's plan for more housing downtown, more people walking the streets. We can feel the dramatic reduction in the number of vacancies in the storefronts."

He believes the city is at a "historic economic inflection point."

"You can feel the economic energy on the street in Pittsfield," the senator said. "And I just want to be as helpful as I can be in partnering with the mayor and all of the rest of the economic partners to see ultimately, the 21st century be even greater than the 20th or 19th century was for Pittsfield."

Mayor Peter Marchetti was excited to report that for the first time in a long time, about 90 percent of downtown storefronts are occupied. This, coupled with two upcoming housing projects in the Wright Building and at the corner of White Terrace, hopes to bring sustainable foot traffic to the corridor.

Housing was a common topic amongst the business and community leaders gathered at Dotties.

President and CEO of 1Berkshire Jonathan Butler explained that the region is struggling with recruiting talent because of the high cost of housing. Additionally, it's retain a local population that can't afford a home in the Berkshires and doesn't have access to market-rate quality housing, he said.