Elizabeth Freeman Center Looks to Repair New Location
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Elizabeth Freeman Center's new downtown location requires several renovations.
On Monday, the center's administrative assistant Esther Anderson asked the Historical Commission, "Does anybody have any guidance?"
"We have a lot of things that need to be done to this building and one of the things we're painfully aware of is that if we don't maintain and update this building, we're going to be in the same situation we were in our old building but worse because now we have 15,000 square feet instead of 7,000 square feet that's falling down around us," she said.
"And we're starting with much better bones here. We have a lovely brick building that's had some great interior work done to it. The exterior has been left neglected, shall we say? So, we're just looking for—I'm just looking for the path I need to take to make this as smooth as possible."
In mid-December, the domestic violence program and rape crisis center moved its main office from 43 Francis Ave. to 66 Allen St., the former 1Berkshire building. Satellite offices at 168 Main St. in Great Barrington and 61 Main St. in North Adams will continue to operate.
The organization outgrew its former office's capacity. After months of searching, EFC purchased the building with a mortgage from Lee Bank in August.
Chairman John Dickson said it is a beautiful, "really special" building and he is pleased to see it repurposed.
"I think it's very exciting that you folks are taking this on because it is a beautiful building and we don't want to see it continue to sort of deteriorate," Commissioner Carol Nichols said.
Anderson, acknowledging the building as a "beautiful gem downtown," reported the need for brick repointing, exterior painting, window and roof replacements, and an HVAC system overhaul.
"The seals are gone. They're in bad shape," she said about the windows. "The office that I'm in, you can see right out the side of the window. The breeze comes in pretty good."
She and the commission discussed different avenues for funding. The center is looking into Community Preservation Act funds to replace its door on the Federal Street side.
Anderson explained the organization must prioritize repairs, stating, "You can't do the roof until you do your HVAC." Repointing is also an immediate need.
"If you look at the first 18 inches around the front door and around where the overhead doors were, that's pretty rotted so that really needs to be maintained," she said. "It needs to be shored up within this next building season. It's really important."
Dickson said the project does not currently require Massachusetts Historical Commission review because the building lacks a preservation restriction.
"In that case, what we would do is, we would write a letter of support or not, to your project but the Massachusetts Historical Commission would make their own recommendations and decisions," he explained.
1Berkshire occupied the space for 12 years before selling it to EFC and relocating to Crawford Square on North Street.
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