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This Friday's Front Porch feature is about one of the Queen Anne's for sale on Church Street in North Adams.
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Friday Front Porch Feature: Rejuvenate a Historic Mansion

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Are you looking for a restoration project on a historic mansion? Then we have the house for you.
 
Our Friday Front Porch is a weekly feature spotlighting attractive homes for sale in Berkshire County. This week, we are showcasing the popular mansion at 116 Church St., one of three historic homes on the tree-lined street in need of serious TLC.
 
The 1882 mansion has seven bedrooms and six bathrooms. It is 4,244 square feet on 0.77 acres. The asking price is $53,000. 
 
The low price is because this Queen Anne is in dire need of renovation after sitting vacant for years, giving someone the rare opportunity to restore this piece of North Adams history.
 
The estate has many elegant 19th-century elements including a grand staircase, hand-carved wood work, fireplaces, pocket doors, and granite accents. It's located in the heart of downtown North Adams so you're not far from local amenities including an elementary school, library, restaurants, and museums. 
 
The Hodge mansion was described as "one of the most elegant and desirable homes in North Adams and North Berkshire" when it was built. The mansion and its sisters have received a lot of attention on old house Facebook groups since being listed late last month. All three are being listed as a package for $177,000.
 
We spoke to Pam Tworig with Bishop West Real Estate, which is handling the listing for the city of North Adams. The city took the properties for delinquent taxes earlier this year. 
 
What do you think makes this property stand out in the current market?
 
The low price is attracting a lot of interest. But what really makes it stand out is the exceptional architecture and the irreplaceable craftsmanship and workmanship seen in the brickwork and carved granite, the fireplaces, and the hand carved woodwork that still remains in this once magnificent home.
 
 
Are there any restrictions on what can be done with the property?
 
The homes are listed in the city inventory of historic homes, but are not on the National Historic Register. There are guidelines as to how the Historical Commission and city would handle the homes on their historical inventory.
 
What would you say to a buyer trying to imagine their life in this space?
 
Imagine living in a spectacular restored mansion on iconic Church Street in the heart of downtown North Adams. Being part of the vibrant arts scene and rebirth of a wonderful small city, close to restaurants, churches, shopping, Mass MoCA, and an amazing local library with features similar to the homes themselves. All while being able to hop into the car and take a short drive to the Clark Art Institute or the many other cultural and outdoor attractions that the Berkshires has to offer. 
 
There are many reasons why people are flocking to North Adams ... once you experience it, you'll understand!
 
How did you come up with the pricing of the home? 
 
Price was set based on consultation with the city of North Adams.
 
What was your first impression?
 
Wow! How sad to see this truly wonderful home in this condition. I hope that it will be restored and made beautiful once again.
What buyer do you see this home being perfect for?
 
Anyone who values the arts scene, culture, and the natural beauty we are blessed with here. This restoration is not for the faint of heart ... or resources ... so the ability to take on something like this is the biggest thing.
 
What will need to be addressed after purchase?
 
The roof must be addressed and the building dried in ASAP. Once that is done, the top to bottom interior work can begin.
 
You can find out more about this house on its listing.
 
*Front Porch Feature brings you an exclusive to some of the houses listed on our real estate page every week. Here we take a bit of a deeper dive into a certain house for sale and ask questions so you don't have to.




Tags: front porch,   Real Estate,   

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Main & Mill: A Vibrant New Restaurant on Main Street

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — You can now enjoy another eatery on Main Street by well-known restaurant siblings Colleen and Sean Taylor.

Their restaurant Main & Mill opened for the first time Tuesday, bringing their vision of creating something vibrant and new to downtown North Adams.

"We have created Main & Mill to be part of our day. It's very seasonal ingredients, thoughtful cooking, beauty, beautiful presentation and dishes. And we really wanted to be part of the community, the downtown area, and start a vibrant area on this end, which has been shuttered for a while," said Colleen.

The building is owned by Ginko on Main Street LLC, which has granted 20 years exclusive possession of the property to Latent Builds as the developer. Jack and Suzy Wadsworth, behind Ginko, are development partners with Karla Rothstein and Salvatore Perry of Latent.

The bank closed in early 2021 and was purchased by Ginko late that year. Plans for the property unveiled three years ago envisioned a restaurant, retail, a park and rooftop bar. 

Colleen saw potential and said she initially wanted the building when it first went up for sale. Being good friends with Rothstein and Perry, she helped them design the kitchen and the bar before learning in March that she could lease it as a restaurant space, something she told them would be a great idea.

She said one of the most important things about the restaurant was the collaboration between Rothstein, Perry, and the Wadsworths, who put a lot of time and energy into the building.

"If Sean and I had done it, we would not be able to do what the collaboration supported. The collaboration of the three of us being able to really have that kind of money to put in down here. The design that the architecture firm that Carla and Sal own is stunning," she said. "The time and effort, everyone came together to do this in a really trusting manner."

The two wanted the restaurant to be an all-day venture, so people could eat at any point throughout the day, all week long.

"We wanted it to be open for coffee and socialization in the morning where people can meet, have their cup of coffee, have a quiche, a vegetarian quiche, or croissant or yogurt. Something intentional with their coffee," she said. "Then move into a lunchtime for the downtown business or anybody, and then go into supper, dinner, with drinks later into the evening. So have it really be open all day long, so that there wasn't a void on any particular day."

They also wanted to do something different than the other restaurants they owned.

"We didn't want to mimic any other restaurant in town. We wanted to bring something that was inspiring, something that had some familiar things that people would see, and other things that we would bring to them for them to experience," she said.

As a woman business owner, Colleen said she wanted to bring a female chef into the kitchen. 

Colleen brought on Chef Anna DeRose, who she said puts twists on a lot of her dishes.

"So we have a creme brulee, but our creme brulee is topped with marshmallow," she said. "Our creme brulee is like almost two desserts in one. It's a s'mores creme brulee. So you could have a s'mores, and you could have a creme brulee - but when you put both of them together, fireworks go off."

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