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Jason and Jennifer Nocher have started their own real estate agency in downtown Pittsfield.

New Real Estate Agency Opens In Downtown Pittsfield

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Nocher Realty opened at 34 Depot St., using the same parking lot as Tito's.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Back in 2004, Jason Nocher started dabbling in flipping properties.
 
He'd buy them, fix them up, and re-sell them. He also ran a restaurant and a tanning salon. And then he started working part time as a real estate agent.
 
But, as time went on, he found he was the most passionate about real estate and that had been taking up more and more of his time.
 
"This is all we do. We love it. And when you love it, it doesn't feel like work," Nocher said.
 
He was working with Steepleview Realty and the more time and energy he was putting into it, the more his sales grew. Two years ago, it became so overwhelming that his wife, Jennifer, quit her job to help manage it all. 
 
Now, the couple is going all in. He quit his full-time job at Holland Co. in Adams and opened up his own real estate agency in downtown Pittsfield.
 
"I love Steepleview. I love the team. We already miss them. It was just our time for our family to grow and develop something on our own," Nocher said.
 
In February, Nocher Realty opened in a 1,000 square-foot space at 34 Depot St. The location is centrally located in Pittsfield, with parking available, and will serve as the hub for what will be a 10-agent company by the end of the year.
 
"Pittsfield's growth has been the best. From five years ago until today, the values have really increased in Pittsfield," Nocher said. "It just seems like Pittsfield property values have increased significantly compared to other towns and cities so why not plant yourself where it is growing."
 
Upon opening, he ramped up the marketing and last week an open house drew some 110 people to see the new space. 
 
"We're already up to 20 listings in three, four weeks. The buzz has been good," Nocher said.
 
He and his wife have since hired one staff member and an agent. He has another agent joining next week, and three more scheduled for April. He said he provides training, marketing material and a computer for all agents, which particularly helps new agents entering the field.
 
"We provide everything -- signs and computers. They don't have to provide anything. If they are a new agent coming in and need a place to fit, they don't need to spend a lot of money," Nocher said.
 
"I kind of want green people. I don't want seasoned agents. They have their own systems. I don't want to mess with their systems."
 
Nocher himself has become a seasoned veteran in the real estate business and has his own system. Particularly, he has found his marketing to a strong point and now with his own agency, he can do that his way.
 
"I can grow it myself instead of helping somebody grow theirs. I'm a young guy. I've got two kids that I'm hoping to send through college. So, it was a financial decision," Nocher said. "And we do something a little different. I'm great at marketing. I sold 46 houses last year just because I market a little bit differently."
 
Nocher said about half of his sales are first-time homebuyers. He is particularly drawn to those buyers because he likes the excitement they have entering the market and helping those who may not even know they are able to purchase a home.
 
"My niche is the first-time home buyers. I love putting a first-time homebuyer into a house. It is exciting. It is new," Nocher said.
 
That's not to say that's all he'll sell. He said he already has half-million dollar homes listed. They work throughout Berkshire County with both residential and commercial properties.
 
"We'll list that trailer or we'll list that million dollar mansion. We have a few listing right now, one in Richmond a half million dollars, one in Lanesborough half million dollars. Really, in Berkshire County, you are looking at a median of $200,000 price point so that is the most of our sales. But we are going to help anybody. We're not going to say no to anything," Nocher said.
 
While Nocher may be expanding into Pittsfield, he said he isn't going to let go of his North County connections.
 
"We plan on opening an agency there, probably North Adams because that's the city. We would like another hub in August," Nocher said.
 
Nocher Realty can be reached at 413-442-0200 or nocherrealty@gmail.com.
 

Tags: new business,   Real Estate,   

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Crosby/Conte Statement of Interest Gets OK From Council

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Architect Carl Franceschi and Superintendent Joseph Curtis address the City Council on Tuesday.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With the approval of all necessary bodies, the school district will submit a statement of interest for a combined build on the site of Crosby Elementary School.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously gave Superintendent Joseph Curtis the green light for the SOI to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by April 12.

"The statement I would make is we should have learned by our mistakes in the past," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.

"Twenty years ago, we could have built a wastewater treatment plant a lot cheaper than we could a couple of years ago and we can wait 10 years and get in line to build a new school or we can start now and, hopefully, when we get into that process and be able to do it cheaper then we can do a decade from now."

The proposal rebuilds Conte Community School and Crosby on the West Street site with shared facilities, as both have outdated campuses, insufficient layouts, and need significant repair. A rough timeline shows a feasibility study in 2026 with design and construction ranging from 2027 to 2028.

Following the SOI, the next step would be a feasibility study to determine the specific needs and parameters of the project, costing about $1.5 million and partially covered by the state. There is a potential for 80 percent reimbursement through the MSBA, who will decide on the project by the end of the year.

Earlier this month, city officials took a tour of both schools — some were shocked at the conditions students are learning in.

Silvio O. Conte Community School, built in 1974, is a 69,500 square foot open-concept facility that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s but the quad classroom layout poses educational and security risks.  John C. Crosby Elementary School, built in 1962, is about 69,800 square feet and was built as a junior high school so several aspects had to be adapted for elementary use.

Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi said the walkthrough was "striking" at points, particularly at Conte, and had her thinking there was no way she would want her child educated there. She recognized that not everyone has the ability to choose where their child goes to school and "we need to do better."

"The two facilities that we are looking at I think are a great place to start," she said.

"As the Ward 6 councilor, this is where my residents and my students are going to school so selfishly yes, I want to see this project happen but looking at how we are educating Pittsfield students, this is going to give us a big bang for our buck and it's going to help improve the educational experience of a vast group of students in our city."

During the tour, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey, saw where it could be difficult to pay attention in an open classroom with so much going on and imagined the struggle for students.

Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said, "we cannot afford not to do this" because the city needs schools that people want their children to attend.

"I know that every financial decision we make is tough but we have to figure this out. If the roof on your house were crumbling in, you'd have to figure it out and that's where we're at and we can't afford to wait any longer," she said.

"We can't afford for the sake of the children going to our schools, for the sake of our city that we want to see grow so we have to build a city where people want to go."

Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso, who served on the School Building Needs Commission for about 18 years, pointed out that the panel identified a need to address Conte in 2008.

Curtis addressed questions about the fate of Conte if the build were to happen, explaining that it could be kept as an active space for community use, house the Eagle Academy or the Adult Learning Center, or house the central offices.

School attendance zones are a point of discussion for the entire school district and for this project.

"At one time I think we had 36 school buildings and now we have essentially 12 and then it would go down again but in a thoughtful way," Curtis said.

Currently, eight attendance zones designate where a student will go to elementary school. Part of the vision is to collapse those zones into three with hopes of building a plan that incorporates partner schools in each attendance zone.

"I think that going from eight schools to three would be easier to maintain and I think it would make more sense but in order to get there we will have to build these buildings and we will have to spend money," Kavey said, hoping that the city would receive the 80 percent reimbursement it is vying for.

This plan for West Street, which is subject to change, has the potential to house grades pre-kindergarten to first grade in one school and Grades 2 to 4 in another with both having their own identities and administrations. 

The districtwide vision for middle school students is to divide all students into a grade five and six school and a grade seven and eight school to ensure equity.

"The vagueness of what that looks like is worrisome to some folks that I have talked to," Lampiasi said.

Curtis emphasized that these changes would have to be voted on by the School Committee and include public input.

"We've talked about it conceptually just to illustrate a possible grade span allocation," he said. "No decisions have been made at all by the School Committee, even the grade-span proposals."

School Committee Chair William Cameron said it is civic duty of the committee and council to move forward with the SOI.
 
He explained that when seven of the city's schools were renovated in the late 1990s, the community schools were only 25 years old and Crosby was 35 years old.  The commonwealth did not deem them to be sorely in need of renovation or replacement.
 
"Now 25 years later, Crosby is physically decrepit and an eyesore. It houses students ages three to 11 in a facility meant for use by teenagers,"
 
"Conte and Morningside opened in the mid-1970s. They were built as then state-of-the-art schools featuring large elongated rectangles of open instructional space. Over almost half a century, these physical arrangements have proven to be inadequate for teaching core academic skills effectively to students, many of whom need extra services and a distraction-free environment if they are to realize their full academic potential."
 
He said  the proposal addresses a serious problem in the "economically poorest, most ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse area" of the city.
 
Cameron added that these facilities have been deemed unsatisfactory and need to be replaced as part of the project to reimagine how the city can best meet the educational needs of its students.  He said it is the local government's job to move this project forward to ensure that children learn in an environment that is conducive to their thriving academically.
 
"The process of meeting this responsibility needs to begin here tonight," he said.
 
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