Lenox Cultural Council Awards Local Grants

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LENOX, Mass. — State Representative Smitty Pignatelli and Arlene D. Schiff, chair of the Lenox Cultural Council, have announced the award of 22 grants totaling $13,178, for cultural programs in Berkshire County.
 
"It's the local volunteers who really make this system work," said Smitty Pignatelli. "They make limited resources go as far as possible, and they make the tough decisions about which projects should be supported. Thanks to them, the arts, sciences, and humanities are part of people's everyday lives in every community across the state."
 
Grants have been awarded to the following programs: Back Room Boston, Inc’s Klezmer Band at Kimball Farms; David R. Bates III’s Halloween Harvest Performance for Seniors; Berkshire Children’s Chorus, Inc.’s Ukulele Lessons; Berkshire Music School’s 2023 Lenox Loves Music Series; Berkshire South Regional Community Center’s Berkshire Ukulele Band and Berkshires Sings!; Cantilena Chamber Choir Corporation’s Town of Lenox December Festivities; Christmas/Holiday Sing along by the Fanfare Brass Ensemble; Elijah T. Grasshopper at the Mount; Festival Latino of the Berkshires; Gaia Roots World Music Ensemble at the Lenox Library; Greenagers, Inc.; Hip Hop Dance Chair Exercise for Seniors; Marney Schorr’s It’s My Body: Art for Social Change; Mary Jo D Maichack’s In the Wee Small Hours Cabaret Concert; Olga Dunn Dance Company Lecture and Demonstrations in the Lenox Public Schools; Pittsfield Shakespeare in the Park; SculptureNow at The Mount 2023; Shakespeare & Co’s 2023 Fall Festival of Shakespeare; Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center’s Olivia’s Outlook Hike;  The Stockbridge Sinfonia, Inc.; Tom Truss III’s ReWritten and WAM Theater.
 
The Lenox Cultural Council is part of a network of 329 Local Cultural Councils serving all 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. The LCC Program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, sciences, and humanities every year. The state legislature provides an annual appropriation to the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, which then allocates funds to each community. Statewide, more than $3.3 million will be distributed by local cultural councils in 2023.
 
The Town of Lenox also provided funding to the Lenox Cultural Council for this grant cycle. 
 
Decisions about which activities to support are made at the community level by a board of municipally appointed volunteers. 
 
The Lenox Cultural Council will seek applications again in the fall. Applications and more information about the Local Cultural Council Program are available online at www.massculturalcouncil.org.

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Pennrose Breaks Ground in Lenox, Bringing 68 Units of Affordable Housing

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LENOX, Mass. — Pennrose announced the groundbreaking of 238 Pittsfield Road, a 68-unit affordable rental community.

The development will bring much-needed affordable, family-friendly housing options to the area.

The community will consist of 10 residential buildings offering a mix of 23 one-bedroom, 38 two-bedroom, and seven three-bedroom apartments. Of the 68 total homes, 57 will be affordable for households earning from 30 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) up to 80 percent AMI, with the remaining 11 units available at market rate rents.

A community building at the entrance of the development will offer resident-focused amenities, including event space and a fitness center, along with on-site offices for Pennrose management and resident services staff.

"238 Pittsfield Road builds on the progress that the Town of Lenox has made in addressing the region's pressing needs for affordable, family-sized rental housing," said Karmen Cheung, Regional Vice President at Pennrose. "This partnership with the Town of Lenox continues to deliver communities that give families of all sizes a place to call home. Together with Forge, these two communities reflect our long-term commitment to meeting the diverse housing needs of Berkshire families."

Currently only 7 percent of Lenox's housing stock is deed-restricted affordable, falling short of the 10 percent goal established by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Additionally, approximately 90 percent of the town's existing affordable housing is limited to seniors, and market-rate rental options remain sparse.

238 Pittsfield Road is located a mile down the road from Forge,  a mixed-income community that celebrated its grand opening in August. Together, the two sister developments will add a total of 133 new affordable units to the town.

The project continues Pennrose's collaboration with the Town of Lenox and is guided by the goals of the Town's 2017 Housing Production Plan, 2021 Master Plan, and 2002 Gateway Redevelopment Plan.

The project is financed via federal 4 percent tax credit and state tax credit allocations from the Commonwealth's Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC), with the National Equity Fund as the syndicator and Rockland Trust and US Bank as the investors. Rockland also provided construction debt, and the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) provided both permanent debt and Workforce Housing Funds. MassDevelopment is the bond issuer, and EOHLC provided additional soft sources and operating subsidy. Finally, the Town of Lenox provided local Affordable Housing Trust and Community Preservation Act funds, as well as funds through the Commonwealth's HousingWorks Infrastructure Program (HWIP).

Haynes Construction is serving as general contractor and The Architectural Team as architect for the development.

Construction is underway and is expected to be completed in early 2028.

 

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