PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. was awarded a $65,000 grant from MassDevelopment to fund three projects in the city.

 

Projects include: "The Lab" at the Boys & Girls Club of The Berkshires, the Pittsfield Community Design Center ("Urban Room"), and Let it Shine! A Celebration of Public Art: Mural and Music Festival on Saturday, September 9. 

 

In July 2023, MassDevelopment awarded $500,000 in grants to nine organizations, including Downtown Pittsfield, Inc., for public-facing projects in Gateway Cities that support arts-and culture-based economic development and neighborhood revitalization, such as public art, arts programming and events, space activation, collaborative workspaces, mentoring and educational opportunities in the arts, and more.

 

The funding was awarded through the fourth round of MassDevelopment's Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) Creative Catalyst Grant program, a competitive opportunity for eligible Gateway Cities. 

 

Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. and partners will use its grant to support the creation of a technology lab at the Boys & Girls Club in Pittsfield that seeds an entrepreneurial hub for teens in the district and forms a new pipeline between Berkshire Innovation Center and North Street; the build-out of a brick-and-mortar space for the Pittsfield Community Design Center, an "Urban Room" which serves as a body for planning and executing tactical urbanism strategy and community-focused planning, featuring equipment like paint, planters, recycled furniture, pallets, and tires with seating and lounge areas for meetings, brainstorms, and exhibitions; and implementation of the "Let It Shine" mural installation and celebratory festival that will put two building-scale murals in the pedestrian core of Pittsfield and will get the community involved in installing three smaller participatory murals.  

 

MassDevelopment's TDI Creative Catalyst Grant program is made possible by the Barr Foundation, which since 2019 has awarded $4.4 million to MassDevelopment to create and administer arts-based programming that directly supports the expansion of cultural and creative industries in Gateway Cities.

 

Through its first three rounds, the TDI Creative Catalyst Grant program awarded $1,460,000 in 27 grants to support contributions from the artistic and cultural sectors to advance the revitalization of commercial districts in Gateway Cities.  

 

MassDevelopment's Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) works with cross-sector partnerships in targeted commercial districts in Gateway Cities in order to engage community members, implement local economic development initiatives, and spur further public and private investment. Since 2015, MassDevelopment has invested $20 million in TDI districts through tools such as technical assistance, real estate investments, grant programs, and fellows who work in the districts. That investment has directly influenced over $100.2 million in public and private investments in the districts and assisted an additional $219.9 million, according to a press release.  

 

Defined by the Massachusetts General Laws, Gateway Cities are small to midsized cities in Massachusetts (population of between 35,000 and 250,000) that anchor regional economies around the state, with below state average household incomes and educational attainment rates. The Legislature defines 26 Gateway Cities in Massachusetts, including Attleboro, Barnstable, Brockton, Chelsea, Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Methuen, New Bedford, Peabody, Pittsfield, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Springfield, Taunton, Westfield, and Worcester.