Construct Receives $2M for Renovation of Cassilis Farm in New Marlborough

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NEW MARLBOROUGH, Mass – Construct, a nonprofit provider of affordable housing and support services in the Southern Berkshires, has received over $2 million in funding from Federal Home Loan Bank Boston's (FHLB) Affordable Housing Competitive Funding Program, in partnership with Greylock Federal Credit Union.
 
This award is a step toward providing New Marlborough with its first affordable housing units. The money will help Construct create 11 new apartments at Cassilis Farm, a Gilded Age estate set on eight acres. Two additional single-family houses on the property will be funded privately, providing more immediate homes for New Marlborough's essential workers.
 
FHL Banks Boston's Affordable Housing Program (AHP) supports the development and rehabilitation of stable and affordable rental and for-sale properties in New England. Grants and loans help pay construction, acquisition, and rehabilitation costs. The $2 million awarded to Construct consists of a $1.2M subsidized mortgage and a $850,000 grant. Partnering with Construct, Greylock Federal Credit Union will hold its construction loan, which will become a permanent subsidized mortgage at the end of the project's construction phase.
 
"At Greylock, we recognize and understand that affordable housing is essential to maintaining a strong and vital community," Michael Barbieri, Greylock Federal Credit Union's vice president and manager of business banking said. "This project will help to ensure that members of our local workforce in New Marlborough will be able to live in the community where they invest their time, talent, and energy each day."
 
In 2020, New Marlborough's Affordable Housing Committee released a report stating that the town has no affordable housing and businesses are struggling to keep their doors open due to severe staff shortages. In 2022, with the housing crisis at an all-time high in southern Berkshire County, Construct purchased Cassilis Farm with the generous financial support of friends, neighbors, and New Marlborough ARPA funds. When construction is complete, Construct will have created a total of thirteen new units of 1-3 bedroom affordable housing, expanding New Marlborough's community base, promoting economic stability, and contributing to a future of growth and development. Full occupancy at Cassilis Farm is anticipated in early 2026.
 
"Receiving this funding in partnership with Greylock Federal Credit Union is a positive step forward," Jane Ralph, Construct's Executive Director said. "It is gratifying to see our shared vision of affordable housing in New Marlborough gain momentum in this way. It's a long and complicated process, and this vote of confidence and support means so much."

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Pryor & Peacock's Whimsical Furniture Environmentally Friendly

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
 

The company uses digital printing to create the upholstery fabric, saving water and saving vintage furniture from ending up in landfills.

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — A unique furniture store has popped up on Elm Street this month.

Mom-and-daughter store Pryor & Peacock is hosting the pop-up storefront from Aug. 13 to Aug. 25 at 6 Elm. The New Marlborough business is co-founded by Rosalina Wright and Luca Shapiro, who is also the creative director. 

Their online shop was created in 2024 but they wanted people to see the pieces in person, so they're renting the space for a limited time before a long-term tenant moves in.

The store sources prints to create unique fabrics and reimagines vintage and antique furniture acquired at auctions, local shops, and online.

"We source prints from all over the world that date from the late 1600s up through mid-20th century, and Luca turns those prints into fabric by manipulating them, scanning them, oftentimes has to add or subtract things, and then we manufacture the fabric using only digital printing, which is very environmentally friendly, unlike traditional textile printing," Wright said.

Upholstering the furniture can take weeks of work. Shapiro looks for the perfect design for each piece and, if need be, uses Adobe Photoshop to extend the art work to fit or enhance the print.

"One of the most difficult parts comes in marrying the fabric to a piece of furniture because we only use antique and vintage frames also to be earth friendly, and they're also more beautiful and durable than new furniture," Wright said. "So the image has to go with the furniture, so that takes a lot of work."

One of Pryor & Peacock's missions is to be environmentally friendly. Digital printing doesn't use the same amount of water as traditional textile productions do nor does it contaminate water with ink according to their website.

Not only are they saving water, but they are saving furniture from going into the landfill while also using more durable furniture that doesn't break as easily as current pieces. They started their business to create something unique and to help the environment together.

"It's creating something nobody else is doing. People can't continue to buy throwaway furniture. Six percent of American landfills is furniture, and digital printing not only opens up the possibility of being able to put unique images on a piece of furniture, but it also is, as I said, environmentally friendly. So, for us, the excitement is to take an old East Lake settee that somebody's going to store in their barn and forget about, and make it something completely new and surprising," Wright said.

They hope their furniture helps bring a pop of fun to someone's home.

"We think our furniture is very whimsical and surprising, and most furniture today is oatmeal colored couches and gray neutral chairs, and it's boring," she said.

The two named their business after their mothers' maiden names to honor them and believe the name reflects their pieces.

Shapiro works in interior design outside of the business and the two liked working together and thought it would be great to start a business together. Shapiro says they can work well together and that her and her mother, Wright, has flipped houses before and have the same eye for design.

"So it's very easy for us to work together. When we see something, generally we agree on whether it works or doesn't work on a piece. We agree on the color schemes and that sort of thing. So it's very fun and fulfilling to work together," Shapiro said. 

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