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The former Kmart shopping center has a new owner and a new name — Parkade Plaza.

North Adams' Downtown Shopping Plaza Sold Again

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The former Kmart shopping plaza has changed hands again and the new owners are seeking tenants as "Parkade Plaza."
 
The 127,626 square-foot retail center was sold on June 4 for $2.6 million to Guru Realty LLC of Mendon, with listed managers Nitant Raval of Mendon and Chirag Patel of Dalton. 
 
KeyPoint Partners of Burlington is handling property management and leasing, according to a press release received on Monday. 
 
"There are number of opportunities in various sizes for a variety of uses: retail, entertainment, medical and health, personal service, and others," states Rob Grady, vice president of retail brokerage at KPP. "We're hoping to create a mix of local, regional, and national tenants that will reinvigorate the center and enhance the North Adams downtown area. We're open to all inquiries."
 
The more than seven-acre site on Main Street includes the L-shaped mall along Main and American Legion Drive and the former 93,000-square-foot Kmart building, which currently houses a Rent a Center and a Planet Fitness. 
 
Two anchors — the North Adams Cinemas and Gordman/Peebles — were shuttered in the last four years and the spaces left empty. A third, V&V Liquors, closed when the plaza was sold in February but is set to reopen under new ownership once a license is in hand. 
 
Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum, or EMRCA, which had been based in the corner of the L-shaped mall (where Sleepy's Mattress had been), moved out earlier this year. The offices had been empty of employees for months before and no one answers calls to the numbers listed on its outdated website.
 
First Hartford Realty, under then CEO Neil Ellis, purchased the property in 2005 after Kmart closed and gave it the rarely used name Steeple City Plaza. Over the years, it's also had a Staples, a Sears Hometown and an Olympia Sports. Ellis took over operation of the cinemas when previous owners ran into financial difficulties and pledged to keep them going; First Hartford also owned liquor store it opened in 2014. The L-shaped mall also has a Papa Gino's, a Label Shopper, Dollar Store, H&R Block and T-Mobile and there's a separate Burger King on the property.
 
Ellis has since retired and the plaza was sold to a realty company last year, then to DDM Property Group of West Springfield in February for $1.75 million. 
 
Keypoint manages a number of shopping plazas throughout New England, including the Center at Lenox on Route 7 that has a Kohls, Marshalls and Market 32.
 
An informational flier for prospective tenants lists more than 70,000 square feet of space available: the former Kmart garden center, the cinemas, Peebles, the Sears Hometown space and the corner space of the L-shaped mall and two smaller adjacent spaces (one had been a nail salon). 

Tags: plaza,   shopping center,   

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Berkshire Reign Baseball Program Hosts Inaugural Tournament

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – With the fall high school sports season just around the corner, the boys – and women and men – of summer are still going strong.
 
The next week or so features a plethora of baseball and softball games around the county, with the Berkshire Adult Baseball League finals this weekend, the North Adams Women’s Softball League tournament building to next Thursday’s semi-final round and the county’s newest summer offering: the 1791 Classic youth baseball tournament that gets underway on Friday in North Adams and Dalton.
 
The 1791 Classic is the brainchild – or Reign child – of Berkshire Reign baseball coach Kristopher Ireland.
 
Since 2022, the Reign program has been offering local youngsters a chance to develop their skills on the baseball diamond in Berkshire County and beyond, including road trips to compete in tournaments from Maine to Maryland.
 
Now, the non-profit is ready to offer the same experience in its backyard.
 
“Since 2022, 23 wanted to get a feel for the landscape, make some contacts out and about,” Ireland said this week. “The plan was always to host a tournament. We wanted to leverage Wahconah Park, but, obviously we can’t use that now. The surrounding towns have been awesome – Pittsfield, North Adams, Dalton.
 
“Ultimately, what I’d love to have is a 50- to 100-team tournament where could have a North County Division, Central County Division and South County Division and everyone meets at the new Wahconah Park for the final. That’s what I’m seeing in Upstate New York, seeing in Maine, seeing in Boston.
 
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