MassDOT, Construction Firm Interested in Stanley Park Lots

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Site 9 redevelopment project is close to being finished with only some final amendments before approval.

"Site nine redevelopment project, if you look out there, you can tell we're getting very close to being completed. What's going on now is we're working with Mass DEP and the EPA to finalize the amended ERE," said Executive Director Michael Coakley at last week's meeting of the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority.

The ERE refers to the "easement and restriction for environmental conditions" at the site, required by the state's Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The amended documents will be sent to the state for approval before transferring the property to Mill Town.

"Hopefully, within a couple weeks, we're going to be all set, and then we sign that and send it off to the commissioner of DEP, and then she will hopefully approve it right away. And then everything will be set, and then we can do the transfer of the property, the 4.7 acres, to Mill Town," Coakley said.

Coakley brought up the negotiations with state Department of Transportation to use the parking lot adjacent to the Berkshire Innovation Center as a training site for commercial driver's licenses and motorcycles, noting the agency is still interested.

He also brought up the parking lot at Silver Lake Boulevard that is of interest to be used by Ludlow Construction.

"Ludlow Construction, it's going to be doing major work on the West Street project coming up, and they are looking for an area to store their equipment materials, and they've contacted me about leasing that parking lot," Coakley said.

The board authorized Coakley to negotiate the terms of a licensing agreement for Ludlow Construction.

Coakley also said leases with these two organizations will bring about $60,000 annually.

North Adams, Pittsfield Mark King Day With Calls for Activism

By Tammy Daniels & Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:01PM / Monday, January 19, 2026

Alÿcia Bacon, community engagement officer for the Berkshire Taconic Foundation, speaks at the MLK service held Price Memorial AME Church in Pittsfield. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Wendy Penner can be found pretty much everywhere: leading local initiatives to address climate change and sustainability, championing public health approaches for substance abuse, and motivating citizens to defend their rights and the rights of others. 

 

That's all when she's not working her day job in public health, or being co-president of Congregation Beth Israel, or chairing the Williamstown COOL Committee, or volunteering on a local board. 

 

"Wendy is deeply committed to the Northern Berkshire community and to the idea of think globally, act locally," said Gabrielle Glasier, master of ceremonies for Northern Berkshire Community Coalition's annual Day of Service. 

 

Her community recognized her efforts with the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Peacemaker Award, which is presented to individuals and organizations who have substantially contributed to the Northern Berkshires. The award has been presented by the MLK Committee for 30 years, several times a year at first and at the MLK Day of Service over the past 20 years. 

 

"This event is at heart a celebration of our national and local striving to live up to the ideals of Dr. King and his committed work for racial equality, economic justice, nonviolence and anti-militarism," said Penner. "There is so much I want to say about this community that I love, about how we show up for each other, how we demonstrate community care for those who are struggling, how we support and and celebrate the natural environment that we love and how we understand how important it is that every community member feels deserves to feel valued, seen and uplifted."

 

King's legacy is in peril "as I never could have imagined," she said, noting the accumulation of vast wealth at the top while the bottom 50 percent share only 2.5 percent the country's assets. Even in "safe" Massachusetts, there are people struggling with food and housing, others afraid to leave their homes. 

 

In response, the community has risen to organize and make themselves visible and vocal through groups such as Greylock Together, supporting mutual aid networks, calling representatives, writing cards and letters, and using their privilege to protect vulnerable community members.