Williamstown Property Auctioned for $550K

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
07:02PM / Monday, June 23, 2025Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A North Adams man had the high bid last week on the former Chenail's garden center.

Brian Intraversato outbid three other parties to purchase the 877 Simonds Road property for $550,000 on June 17. JJ Manning Auctioneers conducted the bidding.

The property encompasses 7.1 acres of mixed-use land with eight structures, including a two-family home and two greenhouses. The south end of the property is bisected by Broad Brook; about 1.5 acres of the lot (21 percent) is on the south side of the waterway or includes the brook itself. It is assessed by the town at $632,900.

The late Richard Chenail and his wife, Donna, owned the property for 40 years. Their daughter Pam Shea continued to run the garden center after Richard's death in 2011. The stand closed last fall.

Intraversato said he is excited and not planning any immediate changes to the property, which includes a hair salon and karate studio as tenants.

"It's gonna be as is, as of right now, but eventually, potentially, subdivision. We'll see where we go with it," he said.

"We're looking to make upgrades as needed, and work with the tenants. We'll make sure the tenants feel comfortable and they understand that it's not going to be a radical change."

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Williamstown Studying Major Overhaul for Main Street

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
05:14AM / Wednesday, July 29, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The town is working with a Worcester civil engineering firm to redesign Main Street with an eye toward a major project sometime in the next decade.

Community Development Director Andrew Groff was before the Select Board on Monday night to talk about Town Hall's use of a $500,000 state grant to do preliminary design on major improvements to that portion of Route 2 that runs from Water Street west to the Field Park rotary, through the middle of Williams College's campus.

Groff introduced the elected officials to Amanda Bazinet of Worcester's Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, who is helping the town to develop a plan for Main Street that would align with the commonwealth's Complete Streets Program.

"Our project goals, in addition to the increased pedestrian and bicycle accommodations, is just, in general, improving the sightlines and improving the intersection geometry," Bazinet said.

"Complete Streets … has a lot of different facets to it. As Andrew had mentioned, the goal is to improve the safety for all of the roadway users — not just the motorists. We're looking at improving it for pedestrians, bicyclists, anyone using a mobility device. We want to create streets that are safe for all ages and abilities to use. So, while bicyclists will still be allowed, legally, to use the roadway, we want to look at providing a separate bicycle accommodation along the corridor, whether it's a shared use path along both sides of the streets that is a little more accessible to young children or older people with disabilities to look at all transportation options."

One goal is to encourage "active transportation." The Massachusetts Department of Transportation, who the town hopes one day might fund the construction, has a "healthy transportation policy," Bazinet said.

That MassDOT funding would come through the Transportation Improvement Program, which is managed locally by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. The design work underway now is being done with an eye toward going after TIP funding years down the road.

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