Allegrone Construction Co. is undertaking an $18 million overhaul of the historic Wright Building and the Jim's House of Shoes property
PITTSFIELD, Mass.— A $1.37 million grant from the state will enhance Allegrone's renovation of the Wright Building.
On Tuesday, the City Council accepted $1,370,000 from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities' HousingWorks Infrastructure Program. It will support streetscape infrastructure improvements and the conversion of the rear vehicular alleyway into a pedestrian way behind the building.
The city-owned alleyway, currently fenced off and used for building materials, connects the Hotel on North block to the Intermodal Center.
"It's going to make it not a vehicular alleyway anymore but a pedestrian way," Director of Community Development Justine Dodds explained. "There is going to be some landscaping, some fencing, and those types of improvements."
Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey said that when he was the hotel's operations manager, people complained about how dark that area was. Dodds confirmed that lighting is part of the project.
"It's going to make it a real welcoming space," she said, explaining that it will connect spaces in the downtown as well as businesses and new residents in the apartments.
Allegrone Construction Co. is undertaking an $18 million overhaul of the historic Wright Building and the Jim's House of Shoes property. The project combines the two buildings into one development, retaining the commercial storefronts on North Street and providing 35 new rental units, 28 market-rate and seven affordable.
The city applied through the Community One Stop for Growth, a single application portal and collaborative review process for community and economic development grant programs. The HousingWorks Infrastructure Program provides funding to municipalities and other public instrumentalities for activities related to infrastructure projects associated with housing development.
This project aims to create a "hospitable, safe, inclusive public way connecting to the transit center with the downtown corridor."
The design phase is projected to cost about $56,000 and the construction about $952,000. The rest of the grant is for administration, contingency, and miscellaneous expenses.
Last year, the project was awarded more than $4 million through the state's Housing Development Incentive Program. The city also approved a 10-year tax increment financing agreement with the developer with a savings of over $400,000 through that period as a requirement to receive state tax credits through the HDIP.
The Tax Increment Exemption (TIE) freezes the current property values and base value, and phases in the increased property taxes that result from the upgrades, beginning at 100 percent forgiveness in the first year and decreasing by 10 percent each subsequent year over the term.
The Wright Building's current assessed value is $497,900, and the former Jim's House of Shoes property is $229,900. The redevelopment of these buildings is projected to increase each property's assessed value to more than $2.5 million and more than $1.9 million, respectively.
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Pittsfield Council Passes $232.7M Budget
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council unanimously approved a $232.7 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
It is a modest, almost 2.9 percent increase from FY26.
"I do want to give the community kind of a heads up as we move forward on budgets. What we see coming out of the federal government that's trickling down to the states, it's going to be harder and harder for us as a community to meet our needs under the Proposition 2 1/2," Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said.
"We're going to have challenges, as we've seen communities across the state trying to override the Proposition 2 1/2, because we have dwindling amounts of money coming from the state and federal government."
She pointed out that, at the same time, utility bills are going up for both residents and the city, as are the costs of pavement and other items.
The amended budget of $232,777,720, down from the $232,782,090 originally proposed, includes cuts to the Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the restoration of funds for councilors to attend the annual Massachusetts Municipal Association conference.
The Pittsfield Public Schools' $86,855,061 budget includes $68,886,061 in state Chapter 70 funding and $18 million from the city. With $345,000 in school choice and Richmond tuition revenues, it totals $87,200,061 and is an approximately $300,000 increase from the Pittsfield Public Schools' FY26 budget of $86.9 million.
The district's budget will fund 13 schools, as Morningside Community School will retire in the fall, and includes the middle school restructuring.
Councilors also approved the use of $2 million in certified free cash to reduce the tax rate, and appropriated $450,551 for parking-related expenditures.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric last week held a public hearing at Herberg Middle School for the Reach 5A Final Design and Restoration Plan, which details remediation efforts for the Pittsfield stretch of the Housatonic River.
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Town meeting on Tuesday approved an almost $14 million fiscal 2027 budget, and approved bylaws for short-term rentals and signage, and for public safety vehicles.
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On Tuesday, the School Building Needs Commission heard an update from the owner's project manager, Skanska, and endorsed a draft schedule that runs from 2026 to 2032.
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Late last month, the Conservation Commission greenlit some tree pruning on the property. New windows and a new door can be seen in the front of the building.
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As the school year winds down, the sun was shining high as Morris Elementary School and the community celebrated student success with a splash. click for more