North Adams Bank Building, Former Pizzeria Sold

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Two more Main Street properties have sold this month. 
 
The former TD Bank that closed in April was sold on Dec. 9 to Ginko on Main Street LLC for $600,000. The property had been assessed at about $800,000.
 
The former Pizza House on the corner of Main and Eagle streets was sold by Mark and Robert Moulton on Dec. 22 for $200,000 to Impactful Art Factory LLC. 
 
The principal of Ginko is John S. "Jack" Wadsworth Jr., who has been involved in a number of properties in the city including Porches and the UNO Community Center. 
 
The bank building had been listed as being owned by First Massachusetts Bank, which purchased it from Bank Boston NA (Bank of America) in 1998 for $391,067. First Massachusetts merged with TD Bank in 2005.
 
The 20,000 square foot property is prohibited from being used a bank or other insurance or financial services institution for a period of five years. 
 
There has been a bank in that area of Main Street for more than a century. The site had been the former North Adams National Bank that was demolished in 1963 along with its marble lobby. The bank had earlier merged with what was then Hoosac Savings Bank across the street. 
 
First Agricultural Bank, which had offices next door, purchased the former bank building and another property and razed both, the first buildings taken down for urban renewal. The current 6,900-square-foot building was constructed by First Agricultural as its new offices.
 
The two-story Pizza House property consists of three addresses: 117 Main St. and 3-5 Eagle St. The principal of Impactful Art Factory is Andrew Fitch of East Quincy Street. 
 
Mark and Robert Moulton Jr., whose family also operates Moulton's Spectacle Shoppe next door, bought the building in 2004 from John and James Varellas. James and Stacy Varellas had run the Pizza House there for more than 30 years. 
 
The Varellases had also owned a Pizza House in Adams on McKinley Square and on Spring Street in Williamstown, as well as in Boston, Lee and Great Barrington.
 
The corner continued as a pizzeria, first as Moulton's Pizza and as several other entities, including Supreme and Bella Roma. It's been closed for more than a year.
 
The property had originally been Rice's Drug Store, first established in 1866. The corner had been colloquially known as "Rice's Corner" for decades. The business had been in the Rice family, though former Mayor Archie Pratt was a partner for a time, until it closed in 1965. It had stopped selling prescription drugs in 1961. It was owned by Star Realty Co. before the Varelllases bought it in 1971.
 
Three other recent sales were the Holiday Inn and 85 Main St., the New Kimbell Building.
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Brown Street Bridge Reopens in North Adams

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff

Mayor Jennifer Macksey is the first to drive across the bridge, closed since early 2023.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Mayor Jennifer Macksey led a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, Dec. 15, marking the official reopening of the Brown Street Bridge.
 
"We are very excited despite the cold weather," Macksey said before the ribbon-cutting. "… We are chipping away at these projects, but this is long overdue."
 
The bridge had been closed to all vehicle traffic since March 2023 after being deemed structurally deficient by the state Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The 26-foot steel structure, built in 1952, was flagged after its superstructure rating fell to 3.
 
The reopening follows a temporary repair project designed to safely restore access while the city and state determine a long-term plan. The temporary repair contract was awarded to J.H. Maxymillian at a cost of $349,920.
 
Funding for the project included $75,000 from state Chapter 90 road funds, with the balance was covered by state flood money the city had been previously awarded following a severe storm in July several years ago.
 
The mayor emphasized the critical need to reopen the span, particularly for public safety. 
 
"The perception behind that was we have flooding on West Main Street and River Street, we have to use this bridge," she said. "We are very excited to have it open. Not only to alleviate traffic problems down at the intersection of Big Y and the intersection of City Hall, but to help our friends at emergency management with the ambulance."
 
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