WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — More than six years after the Select Board narrowly awarded development rights for the former Photech mill property to Berkshire Housing Development Corp., the town has formally transferred the property to the Pittsfield nonprofit.
At Monday's Select Board meeting, an enthusiastic board voted 5-0 to execute a deed for the property at 330 Cole Ave., to the Pittsfield-based non-profit, which plans to create 41 units of subsidized housing, utilizing the existing four-story structure and building new town houses.
Town Manager Jason Hoch told the board that the project is "funded and ready to begin" and that work at the site could commence soon.
BHCD President Elton Ogden confirmed that on Wednesday morning.
"We expect to close within one week and construction will start immediately thereafter," Ogden wrote in an email responding to a request for comment. "It's been a very long and challenging process, so it will be great to begin work on the new buildings."
Select Board Chair Jane Patton was excited the town was able to seal the deal.
"This is big news," Patton said on Monday. "This has been going on for a while. It's nice to get this piece moving."
Patton is the lone member of the Select Board remaining from that 2014 vote and had actually voted in the minority because she favored going with the recommendation of the town's Affordable Housing Committee, which shepherded the request for proposal that was answered by BHDC and Boston's Arch Street Development.
Arch Street submitted a more ambitious proposal that called for 60 units of housing on Cole Avenue and an additional 25 on the former town garage site on Water Street — answering both parts of the RFP developed by the housing committee.
Berkshire Housing proposed development only on the Photech site; at that time, it was contemplating 46 units of income-restricted housing. That plan has since been refined.
The Affordable Housing Committee reviewed both applications and recommended the Arch Street plan to the Select Board because it maximized the use of two town assets. Three members of the AHC resigned shortly after the Select Board went against its recommendation.
Berkshire Housing has spent the last six years operating on an option from the town to develop the site and applying for funding through the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development and other sources. In December 2016, Berkshire Housing received the blessing of the town's Conservation Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals, essentially making the project "shovel ready."
In May 2019, annual town meeting approved a grant of $200,000 of the town's Community Preservation Act funds toward the projected $16 million project on land being donated by the town.
Last December, Ogden was at town hall to ask for what he then hoped would be the last extension of BHDC's option on the land.
Hoch Monday assured the Select Board that the deed documents had been reviewed by town counsel and they included easements for the planned bicycle/pedestrian path that will run from the near the junction of North Street (Route 7) and Syndicate Road east to the Spruces Community Park.
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Williamstown Fire Committee Talks Station Project Cuts, Truck Replacement
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Prudential Committee on Wednesday signed off on more than $1 million in cost cutting measures for the planned Main Street fire station.
Some of the "value engineering" changes are cosmetic, while at least one pushes off a planned expense into the future.
The committee, which oversees the Fire District, also made plans to hold meetings over the next two Wednesdays to finalize its fiscal year 2025 budget request and other warrant articles for the May 28 annual district meeting. One of those warrant articles could include a request for a new mini rescue truck.
The value engineering changes to the building project originated with the district's Building Committee, which asked the Prudential Committee to review and sign off.
In all, the cuts approved on Wednesday are estimated to trim $1.135 million off the project's price tag.
The biggest ticket items included $250,000 to simplify the exterior masonry, $200,000 to eliminate a side yard shed, $150,000 to switch from a metal roof to asphalt shingles and $75,000 to "white box" certain areas on the second floor of the planned building.
The white boxing means the interior spaces will be built but not finished. So instead of dividing a large space into six bunk rooms and installing two restrooms on the second floor, that space will be left empty and unframed for now.
The Charter Review Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to endorse an amended version of the compliance provision it drafted to be added to the Town Charter. click for more
Developer David Traggorth asked the trustees to make the contribution from its coffers to help unlock an additional $5.4 million in state funds for the planned 54-unit apartment building at the south end of the Cable Mills site.
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The donors, who wish to remain anonymous, say the gift reflects their desire to not only support Williams but also President Maud S. Mandel's strategic vision and plan for the college.
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Neighbors of a proposed subdivision off Summer Street last week asked the Planning Board to take a critical look at the project, which the residents say is out of scale to the neighborhood. click for more