Rehabilitation Efforts Reignited for Historical Pittsfield Property

The structure, a remnant of the 19th century, sits between the Registry of Motor Vehicles and Providence Court. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Efforts to save the historic William Russell Allen House have reignited with the support of Community Preservation Act funds. 

The Historical Commission has received more than $33,200 in CPA funding for a feasibility study on the 1886 home, said to be "the finest example of Queen Anne design in Pittsfield and one of the finest in Berkshire County." Now, its bones are showing in several places, and windows are boarded up. 

The feasibility study was funded in the city's $526,548 CPA budget for fiscal year 2025. 

The deteriorating historical property is owned by the state's Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, but was built by the son of Thomas Allen, who underwrote the construction of the Berkshire Athenaeum, and great-grandson of Thomas Allen, Pittsfield's first congregational minister. 

The application reports that in the past few years, DCAMM has indicated it is in support of the property's disposition and redevelopment for productive use. 

"The Pittsfield Historical Commission proposes to conduct a feasibility study, updating a previous one completed over 20 years ago. Such a study would assist any potential buyer or developer to have a full picture of the requirements in preserving and re-purposing this property," it reads. 

The study is expected to cost $42,500, which was the original CPA funding ask. 

The effort is backed by the Berkshire Historical Society, DCAMM, descendants of the William Russell Allen family, and previous efforts. In 2007, the William Russell Allen House Inc. nonprofit attempted to raise money for rehabilitation but was only able to finance the building's stabilization in 2009. 

The William Russell Allen House was also listed in Pittsfield's Community Preservation Plan as a significant historical structure. 

Included in the CPA application is a letter of support from Thomas W. Allen reporting that the Allens are "delighted" to learn of renewed interest in restoring the house and strongly support the project. 

"You may be aware that in 2017 our family mounted a preservation and restoration effort, together with local community leaders and Preservation Massachusetts, but the difficulties of finding sufficient financial support proved overwhelming at the time. We are pleased that the Berkshire County Historical Society and the local community are working on this project, and that we all may see it come to fruition in coming months," Allen wrote. 

• The Elizabeth Freeman Center Fire House Restoration: $150,000, Historic Preservation
• Greenagers Inc. Barkerville Trail Creation: $53,457, Open Space and Recreation
• Roots Rising Farm Improvements: $90,000, Open Space and Recreation
• City of Pittsfield Conservation Commission, Barkerville Expansion: $13,000, Open Space and Recreation
• Williams Elementary School Playground Restoration: $30,000, Open Space and Recreation
• City of Pittsfield Parks Department West Part Cemetery Restoration: $9,990, Historic
  Preservation
• Pittsfield Parks Department Park Signage: $4,850, Open Space and Recreation
• Pittsfield Affordable Housing Trust: $140,000, Community Housing
• Boys and Girls Club of the Berkshires Mural Restoration: $15,000, Historic Preservation
• Pittsfield Historical Commission Russell Allen House Study: $33,250, Historic
  Preservation

Pittsfield Man Creates Device to Clear Lakes of Algae Blooms

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
08:07AM / Sunday, October 11, 2026

Marc Bellora holds a jar of lake water, left, to compare to water cleaned by his Aqua Clarifier Water System.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Marc Bellora has high hopes for a device he's created to treat lakes from harmful algae blooms.

His patented water clarifier can physically remove captured material rather than letting the nutrient-rich material settle back into the lake, which occurs when herbicides are used.

"It's a long-term lake management tool that can be used to reduce legacy nutrients in lakes and ponds over time," he explained. "We built the prototype, this is a prototype. It does approximately 65 to 70 gallons per minute. It's very environmentally friendly. Can be used with air only, or we can use a low-dose potable polyaluminum chloride (PACL) or chemical on board that can help improve results."

The water clarifier barge is based on well-proven technology for water treatment, he said. "It's a self-contained, portable, mobile unit that removes algae blooms, nitrogen, phosphorus, and the associated nitrogen and phosphorus within lakes."

Bellora founded Clear Waterways Group with business partner Mark Simon. They built a prototype mobile unit and are still working out the kinks. It's taken Bellora about five years to bring the project to fruition as he is also a full-time Realtor.

He says the repurposed barge they use has a device that uses air to filter the water to separate harmful bacteria or uses a chemical at low doses. They are testing both to see how well each does at cleaning the water.

"They would do the same thing here, except they would spray it, and it blocks all that stuff together," Bellora said of the use of herbicides. "But then it drops to the bottom. So now all the nutrients that are attached in that plot go to the bottom and contribute to the legacy nutrients only to fuel next year's bloom. Ours removes it."

He said just using air alone has removed 70 to 90 percent of harmful algae where he has been operating on the south end of Pontoosuc Lake.

"Essentially, we take in the bad stuff, we take in the lake water. We separate the good stuff from the bad stuff. Clean water goes back into the lake, and the bad stuff can either be composted, or it can be taken to the wastewater treatment plant, which is what we're doing here," he said. 

Bellora explained that tiny air bubbles attach to particles in the water, making them buoyant so they rise and can be removed. The unit can operate with air alone, or with a low dose of potable polyaluminum chloride.

PACL helps through flocculation: it gathers small particles into larger clumps that are easier for air bubbles to capture. He said this can help remove dissolved nutrients that air alone may not capture as effectively. 

Bellora said he was inspired to build something like this after noticing the lakes he enjoys being shut down because of algae blooms. 

The city issued a health advisory for Pontoosuc in August, warning residents not to swim or come in contact with the lake water because of an algae bloom. The cyanobacteria can cause skin irritations, vomiting and diarrhea and nerve or liver problems. 

Bellora previously worked for a company that used traditional dissolved air flotation (DAF) systems to treat water. In that role, he traveled around the country to work at paper mills and food-processing plants.

That experience gave him a practical understanding of DAF, and while flying between jobs, he would see green ponds and wonder whether the technology could be adapted to treat lakes.