Pittsfield Businesses Receive MassDevelopment Funds

Staff Reports 11:09AM / Tuesday, September 19, 2023Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — MassDevelopment has awarded $2,230,052 in grants to advance the rehabilitation of 22 properties in Gateway Cities across Massachusetts that will have significant economic impacts on commercial corridor revitalization goals.

In Pittsfield, Marie's North Street Eatery & Gallery, Remedy & Culture LLC, Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds Inc, and Methuselah Bar and Lounge received grants.

"For generations, Gateway Cities have been welcoming places to live, start a business, and build community," said Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao, who serves as chair of MassDevelopment's Board of Directors. "MassDevelopment's Transformative Development Initiative allows the state to work hand-in-hand with local partners to ensure these cities remain places of opportunity for all and we are proud these TDI Equity Investment grants support that goal."

These grants represent the second and final tranche of awards from the Fiscal Year 2023 round of MassDevelopment's Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) Equity Investment program. In May, the agency awarded $714,893 in TDI Equity Investment grants to five properties.

Marie's North Street Eatery & Gallery will receive $31,000 to renovate the interior of its existing space, which long housed Marie's European Delights, to offer sit-down dining and affordable grab-and-go options to cater to the city's downtown lunch crowd.

Remedy & Culture LLC will receive $28,000 to help the company make interior renovations to an 860-square-foot vacant storefront at 90 North St. in the Central Block. The renovated property will feature a wellness retail shop, yoga and meditation classroom, and private treatment room.

Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds Inc. will receive $179,000 to purchase the iconic King Kone soft serve ice cream shop at 133 Fenn St. and convert it into a worker cooperative. The nonprofit incubator will also expand its current arts programming through the creation of a community art gallery and exhibition space in the adjacent retail space in the same building. This grant is funded by the Barr Foundation.

The Barr Foundation awarded $1 million to MassDevelopment's TDI in order to expand the number and scope of projects eligible to receive funding, particularly those with a focus on cultural and creative economies and community empowerment.

Methuselah Bar and Lounge will receive $120,000 to help the company expand into an adjacent space to allow for increased dining capacity and the ability to host events, including those connected to the Latinx and LGBTQ communities. Specifically, this grant will help fund the installation of a required fire suppression system for the entire building to facilitate the expansion.

MassDevelopment's Transformative Development Initiative 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.

Through TDI Equity Investment, MassDevelopment invests in near-term projects that activate ground-floor and commercial spaces that will have significant economic impacts within a TDI district; are consistent with Commonwealth and agency priorities; engage and build capacity in local communities and with partners; catalyze market demand and support TDI district goals; and lack other sufficient funding sources to proceed.

In January 2023, MassDevelopment released a Fiscal Year 2023 Notice of Funding Availability for projects in or near TDI districts in Attleboro, Barnstable, Fall River, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, New Bedford, Pittsfield, Revere, Springfield, Taunton, and Worcester.

In addition to contributing $1 million towards TDI Equity Investment awards, the Barr Foundation has awarded $4.4 million to MassDevelopment since 2019 to create and administer arts-based programming that directly supports the expansion of cultural and creative industries in Gateway Cities.

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Crane Park's Mini-Pitch is Open for Fun

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:18AM / Wednesday, October 21, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — City officials celebrated the opening of the new Crane Parks mini-pitch on Tuesday.

Players from several local soccer programs, community leaders, and project partners gathered to kick the ceremonial first pitch into the goal on the new facility.

Back in May, the Parks Commission endorsed a project to place a mini-pitch over the aging, cracked concrete surface of Crane Park's former rink. A mini-pitch is a compact, modular field typically used for soccer, and it can also accommodate inline skates.

"The mini-pitch system will create a space that encourages physical activity and welcomes play through teamwork. The space will serve as a location for the community to gather for outdoor fun and recreation for many years ahead. They'll be able to put their cell phones down for a few minutes and actually engage in some great outdoor entertainment," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.

The project was funded entirely by grants. In June, the City Council accepted the gift of the mini-pitch facility, valued at over $100,000, and $10,000 from the Mill Town Foundation to ready the site.

The facility has a galvanized steel border with built-in goals and a rubber plastic surface that is clicked together. Cleats are not allowed on the surface, but sneakers and other sports shoes are.

The mini-pitch system came with a light tower and two LED lamps, but Crane Park does not have power, so it won't be illuminated. That could change in the future, officials said.

The pitch is open for the community every day, but Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath reminded users to be mindful as they play as well as to respect the pitch and the neighborhood it resides in.

McGrath said the idea grew out of conversations with Andy Wrba, program director for the Mill Town Foundation.

"There's been a deep, deep soccer community in Pittsfield and throughout the Berkshires for a long time. I've seen it as a multi-generational way for communities to connect and pass down lessons and connect families and everyone. And a big part of that has been the West State Soccer League," Wrba said.

He said the goal is to keep the space active and encourage outdoor recreation and youth engagement.

McGrath said that with the partnership from Mill Town and the city's park commission they were able to bring the pitch to the finish line.

"It's a testament to our ability to bring new and unique facilities into our city that accommodate youth sports. And it really, at the end of the day, is about promotion of soccer. And we are just so pleased that our partners all came together and that we were able to get this mini-pitch completed," McGrath said.

Other contributors as well were the U.S. Soccer Foundation, who provided the mini-pitch system, surface materials, and installation assistance at no cost to the city, as well as Massachusetts Youth Soccer who partnered with Pittsfield to bring the system to the city.

"All these contributions made this project possible, and highlights how our community continues through public and private partnerships to provide new facilities and amenities for all to enjoy," Marchetti said.

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