image description — Martinson said his group found Pittsfield and the county through market research and data, noticing that there was a need for storage in the city.

A New Storage Facility is Coming to Pittsfield

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:33PM / Saturday, June 14, 2025Print Story | Email Story

The facility is slated to open June 19.

PITTSFIELD, Mass — A new storage unit is opening in Pittsfield later this month.

At 428 Merrill Road, formerly Crane Paper, CubeSmart will offer storage units ranging in sizes from 5 by 5 to 10 by 30 feet.

The facility has 431 units.

Jack Martinson from Peach Tree Holdings, a real estate company that acquires and develops commercial real estate across the country, said there was a need for such such a business in the area.

"We look for self storage properties all over the country, and saw a building and a need in the city. And you know, we did talk to one of the neighbors who was happy to see that the building was being transformed," he said. " And over the past six months we transformed the 60,000 square foot kind of rundown building into a, I'd say, class A self storage facility offering around 45,000 square feet of storage and 431 units, and we're excited to bring a nationally named brand into the city of Pittsfield."

Martinson said his group found Pittsfield and the county through market research and data, noticing that there was a need for storage in the city.

"Specifically looking at what's available in the market, you have, I think, Extra Space Storage Facility, and then a pretty large U haul," he said. "Through the data that was available to us, it looks like those are basically full. And so I think adding another storage facility in the market will help lower prices a little bit for customers, as well as provide a another safe and secure storage building in the city."

He says CubeSmart will provide a safe space for people to put their stuff.

"But 24/7 security operating hours, I think, will be around nine to 6pm, I think. Friendly deals, safe storage, and mainly just a place you can come to trust and put your belongings and valuables, and it's gated, it's fenced. And again, I think the main thing is having a 24/7 security system to keep people confident that their stuff wont be tinkered or stolen is what we're trying to provide here," Martinson said.

The group found the building about a year ago and started working on construction right after buying it in December.

"We initially found this building, I think, in June of 2024 and then, through due diligence and some other hiccups, finally purchased the building in December of 2024 and then construction started immediately after," Martinson said.

Construction was about $3.65 million. CubeSmart will manage the facility and offer the first month free with an initial 40 percent promotion.

The facility is slated to open June 19 but customers can already start reserving units online.

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Social Service Organizations Highlight Challenges, Successes at Poverty Talk

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
08:04AM / Sunday, April 05, 2026

Dr. Jennifer Michaels of the Brien Center demonstrates how to use Narcan. Easy access to the drug has cut overdose deaths in the county by nearly half.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Recent actions at the federal level are making it harder for people to climb out of poverty.

Brad Gordon, executive director of Upside413, said he felt like he was doing a disservice by not recognizing national challenges and how they draw a direct line from choices being made by the Trump administration and the challenges the United States is facing.

"They more generally impact people's ability to work their way out of poverty, and that's really, that's really the overarching dynamic," he said.

"Poverty is incredibly corrosive, and it impacts all the topics that we'll talk about today."

His comments came during a conversation on poverty hosted by Berkshire Community Action Council. Eight local service agency leaders detailed how they are supporting people during the current housing and affordability crisis, and the Berkshire state delegation spoke to their own efforts.

The event held on March 27 at the Berkshire Athenaeum included a working lunch and encouraged public feedback.

"All of this information that we're going to gather today from both you and the panelists is going to drive our next three-year strategic plan," explained Deborah Leonczyk, BCAC's executive director.

The conversation ranged from health care and housing production to financial literacy and child care. Participating agencies included Upside 413, The Brien Center, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, MassHire Berkshire Career Center, Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Child Care of the Berkshires.

The federal choices Gordon spoke about included allocating $140 billion for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, investing $38 billion to convert warehouses into detention centers, cutting $1 trillion from Medicaid over 10 years, a proposed 50 percent increase in the defense budget, and cutting federal funding for supportive housing programs.

Gordon pointed to past comments about how the region can't build its way out of the housing crisis because of money. He withdrew that statement, explaining, "You know what? That's bullshit, actually."

"I'm going to be honest with you, that is absolute bullshit. I have just observed over the last year or so how we're spending our money and the amount of money that we're spending on the federal side, and I'm no longer saying in good conscience that we can't build our way out of this," he said.

Upside 413 provided a "Housing Demand in Western Massachusetts" report that was done in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst's Donahue Institute of Economic and Public Policy Research. It states that around 23,400 units are needed to meet current housing demand in Western Mass; 1,900 in Berkshire County in 2025.

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