NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council on Tuesday approved a tax agreement to support the $17 million redevelopment of the Blackinton woolen mill into 50 luxury hotel rooms.

 

The city agreed to exempt a portion of the personal and property taxes of the development over a 10-year period starting at 100 percent in 2027.

 

The vote was unanimous; Councilors Marie T. Harpin and Jennifer Barbeau were absent. 

 

"We've spent a lot of time with legal, we've spent a lot of time with the Tourists team, we spent a lot of time with the state, working on this agreement and we feel this is in the best interest of the city and it certainly identifies as economic development," said Mayor Jennifer Macksey.

 

The Tourists resort has been slowly expanding since the renovation and expansion of the old Redwood Motel. The partnership group owns properties along Route 2 and Massachusetts Avenue and in between the two byways.

 

Partnership principal Benjamin Svenson and project manager Eric Kerns informed the City Council two weeks on how they plan to rejuvenate the century-old mill, bring in more revenue for the city and become a midway point on the bike trail between North Adams and Williamstown.  

 

"Tourists has been a good partner to work with with the city of North Adams. They currently employ seasonally staff flexing from 50 to 65 and despite the pandemic have dispersed $6.3 million in payroll to local workers from '18 to '22," said Mayor Jennifer Macksey. "During that same period, Tourists contributed significantly to the city's budget through local meals and room tax over about $750,000 in the past five years. ...

 

"Tourists, by investing in the redevelopment of the Blackinton Mill and to know the city and Tourists can join together, multiply and amplify our deep commitment to growing the city."

 

Blackinton Mill LLC will see its property taxes rise by 10 percent in most years, but with years two and three at 90 percent; four and five at 80 percent; and and nine and 10 at 20 percent.

 

The starting assessed value is $447,000 — the current valuation — with the expectation that the assessed value during the duration of the agreement will be $4 million.

 

"We have learned that it takes three to five years to really build a hotel and get it up to full capacity," the mayor said. "So that's why we were more generous at the beginning of the TIF and tapered off after years five through 10. We also included in the ticket discount on personal property so everything stays on the same cycle."

 

She estimated that the property would bring in about $160,000 over the 10 years in its current mostly vacant state; with the TIF, it will be more than $800,000.

 

Tourists currently has 48 rooms; the renovation of the mill will add another 50. Kerns said the agreement calls for 25 full-time equivalent positions but the expectation is that it will be 33 once complete.

 

"These are going to be higher price, longer stay type rooms. We're having a new full-service restaurant and an events business which also has meals tax on it," he said. "So our conservative estimate now is that this will generate at least $200[000], I think we're looking at about $230,000 in additional rooms and meals tax a year."

 

Kerns said they were grateful for the TIF agreement because it allows for them to secure financing and invest in staffing and marketing and other things to make the project successful.  

 

Council President Lisa Blackmer noted that Tourists will still be paying taxes and that the exemptions would be on the new assessements on the Blackinton Mill property only. 

 

"We will have sales tax ... for the hotel, motel rooms and for the restaurant. We will also have any other taxes and payroll, etc., benefiting from the project so I just want to clarify that because I always get emails saying you're raising my taxes to give them a tax break and that just isn't true," she said.

 

The councilors made a number of comments in support of the project and the TIF, with Councilor Keith Bona saying the meals and rooms taxes of more than $200,000 a year was "huge" and Councilor Bryan Sapienza that he believed it would spark more investment in the city. 

 

 "This is exactly the kind of projects we need to get our city back up and becoming a city that has actual career-type jobs and not just low-paying jobs," said Councilor Ashley Shade. "And Tourists has been a great employer in the area and I know that they have done fantastic work on making North Adams a destination."

 

The agreement will be submitted to the state's Economic Assistance Coordinating Council for its Sept. 21 meeting for approval.