TIF Proposed for Unistress Expansion
PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Additional support for a longtime local concrete business is on Tuesday’s City Council Agenda.
Mayor Peter Marchetti has proposed a ten-year tax increment financing agreement for Unistress Corporation's $4 million expansion, which is expected to create 50 new jobs.
With a TIE, the company would pay about $653,000 in property taxes over the next decade, starting at 100 percent forgiveness in the first year (about $24,000) and ending at 10 percent forgiveness (about $2,750) in 2035.
The property's base value in fiscal year 2025 is $1,294,700, and the completed market value is $1,920,100. The $625,400 increment will see ten percent less forgiveness each year.
In his communication to councilors, Marchetti explained that Unistress has a long history of doing business in the city as a manufacturer of precast/prestressed concrete products.
"Unistress products are used in the construction of concrete structures, including parking garages, bridges, stadiums and microchip plants throughout the Northeast," he wrote.
"Unistress is one of the only precast microchip experts in the Northeast. To meet the growing needs of this expanding market, Unistress is expanding their current facility in Pittsfield by adding 15,510 square feet of additional manufacturing space. This facility expansion is estimated to create approximately 50 multi-skilled work positions. These positions have an average annual salary of $49,920 with extensive benefits including health care, pension and annuity benefits."
The company has projected a $4,150,750 capital investment expansion that includes soft costs, construction, utility and infrastructure improvements, and the purchase of two large overhead crane systems.
The projected real estate taxes are expected to be $652,786 over the next ten years, even with the approval of the proposed TIF agreement, Marchetti said.
Earlier this month, the council acted as a decades-defunct financing authority to OK MassDevelopment assistance for the company at 550 Cheshire Road. Approval from the Pittsfield Industrial Development Financing Authority, formed in the 1970s, is needed to move the process forward yet the body is far in the past.
Petricca reportedly approached the city through MassDevelopment. The project's financing package is about $4 million and the TIE is per the incentive program.
Last week, nearly 100 Dalton residents turned up to the town’s Board of Health meeting to complain of dust and particulates coating their neighborhood from Berkshire Concrete, a Petricca business on the same site, and allegedly causing health issues.
Several demanded that the board impose an injunction to stop operations at the worksite. The dig site is reportedly a little farther than 300 feet from the closest residential street, off Prospect Street
During Wednesday’s planning board meeting, it was announced that the company has seized work until a "clerical error" is resolved.
Town Planner Janko Tomasic explained that the parcel that Berkshire Concrete was doing the excavation work on, number 105-16, was not listed on the permit application, even though it was shown on the site map that was submitted.
At the advice of town counsel, all work has stopped, and Berkshire Concrete will be required to reapply for this permit under the correct parcel. As part of the process, a public hearing will need to be held so that resident concerns can be addressed.
Abutters of the dig site have been very outspoken, attending multiple town meetings en-mass, including the Board of Health, Conservation Commission, and the Planning Board. They also emphasized that they will be attending Monday night's Select Board meeting.
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