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Site 9 has been called a "scar" and was described as looking like the surface of the moon.

Work Underway at Pittsfield's Site 9

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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The 16-acre parcel at the corner of Woodlawn Avenue and Tyler Street Extension previously housed a General Electric factory and is the largest and most prominent section of the William Stanley Business Park.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — An army of construction vehicles can be seen cracking and crushing the surface of Site 9.

"It's pretty amazing the amount of work that is going on over there," Business Development Manager Michael Coakley said to the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority on Thursday.

"There is a lot of equipment they have and it's pretty great, 12 or 13 of those big huge construction pieces of equipment."

Crews are working to excavate the area and bring fill over from another site by working in thirds, starting on the southern portion of the property and working towards the middle.

The long-anticipated project took off earlier this year after a $9.8 million bid was awarded to William J Keller & Sons Construction.  The Castleton-On-Hudson, N.Y., company plans to have the rough surface ready for development in October.

Coakley reported that everything is going well and on time.

"They found a little bit more concrete than they had originally planned but they're working through that," he added.

In about a week, it will be known if the additional concrete will affect the cost.

As far as air monitoring and ground testing for pollutants, there have been no occurrences yet.



Chair Michael Matthews said it has been positive news so far this year and he is impressed with the organization of the site work.

Site 9 has been called a "scar" and was described as looking like the surface of the moon. The 16-acre parcel at the corner of Woodlawn Avenue and Tyler Street Extension previously housed a General Electric factory and is the largest and most prominent section of the William Stanley Business Park.

The project was fully funded earlier this year. The last of the funding includes $400,000 of Pittsfield Economic Development Authority foundation funds, $1.3 million in GE landscaping funds, and $4.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds.

PEDA voted to engage in a year-long, $3 million line of credit with Berkshire Bank for interim bridge financing in case there is a delay in the grants coming through.  Vice Chair Pamela Green brought forward concerns about interest charges on the loan and it was explained that this is a safety net that will hopefully not have to be used.

"I want to know where that interest money is coming from," she said, adding that she would like to know if it is reimbursable in the grant because, in her opinion, it should be reimbursed if the entity has to incur the interest because a state agency is "taking their sweet time" sending the reimbursement.

"Why should that come out of PEDA's fund?"

The board agreed to look into the grants to clarify the terms.


Tags: PEDA,   

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ADOPTED! Companion Corner: Cali and Kyzer at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

Great news, Kyzer and Cali found a home for Christmas already! Still looking for a new friend for the holidays? There are plenty of dogs and cats and small animals at Berkshire Humane who would love to go home with you.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a bonded dog pair awaiting a new family at the Berkshire Humane Society.

Kyzer and Cali are both poodles. Kyzer is the male and is 7 years old, a quite a bit bigger than his sister Cali, who is a miniature of Kyzer and 8 years old.

Canine adoption counselor Rhonda Cyr introduced us to the two.

"They came from a household that couldn't hold on to them, and it sounds like they may have been abandoned by their previous owner with somebody else, and so they came to us looking for a new home," she said.

The two love to be around you and snuggle. But both are very happy dogs.

"Kyzer is 7 years old, and his personality is that he kind of wants to be in everything. He's very loving, very snuggly, as you can tell. And Callie here, she's 8 years old, and she is kind of like the life of the party," said Cyr. "She wants to tell you everything about her day, and she's a little bit of a little ham."

The two are considered seniors and really like soft treats as Cali just had a few teeth removed and Kyzer has a tooth procedure coming up.

"Currently, they really like soft treats, because they are both on the senior side of things. So they have had some dental work, so they are really in need of something softer. They are not big chewers at this age, really, their main focus right now is just really socializing and cuddling," Cyr said.

The two would love a quiet home with someone who wants to snuggle. They shouldn't go to a home with bigger dogs but if you have a dog, you can bring them in for a visitation with the poodles to see if they will get along. Cats will be fine and the preference is for older and more responsible children so that the pups don't get hurt, as they are senior citizens.

"The perfect home for them would be a quiet home that's not too active. Like I said, they're very social, so they could handle some visitors," she said. "They're very friendly, but I don't think that they would really enjoy any other dogs in the home."

Poodles need to be regularly groomed, and the prospective adopter will have to keep an eye on their health. Kyzer has a heart murmur that needs to be monitored. This doesn't mean he is in bad health, as he could live a perfectly normal life, but he will need to be checked by a veterinary specialist routinely.

"Ideally, he would go to a home that could provide further health care with a specialist in cardiac care. And you know, he could very well live out the rest of his life comfortably and happy," Cyr said. "We just don't have all that information at the moment, but I think that you know the way he's going right now. He's got a good spirit, and he seems to be pretty happy."

The shelter is hoping the to get them a home for the holidays.

"We would love to get them a home in time for the holidays. They've been here since the eighth of November, and they're really, really looking as much as the staff loves them here, we're really looking to get them into a home and somewhere nice and cozy so they can spend the rest of their life together," she said.

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