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Pittsfield Walmart Plans Online Order Pickup Area

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Walmart plans to enclose part of its garden center for an online grocery pickup area. 

On Thursday, the Conservation Commission OK'd the project to convert about 1,550 square feet of the outdoor garden center on the left side of the building. The total disturbance area is approximately 7,000 square feet and is confined to a few feet around the building and the drive aisle directly adjacent.

The expansion will facilitate the corporation's online ordering operations. This type of shopping became popular and necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"It's very low impact,” said Greg DiBona of Bohler Engineering, the firm working on behalf of Walmart. 

"I mean, there's no change to drainage, no change in impervious coverage. The area was already fully paved and developed as part of the garden center. It's basically like putting a roofed area on top of that portion of the garden center.” 

The ConCom issued a negative determination for the project's request for determination of applicability, meaning it will not have a negative impact on the protected wetland areas. 

Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires Honors Leaders, Volunteers

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
09:07AM / Sunday, May 24, 2026

Liana Toscanini presented the Founder's Choice Award to Smitty Pignatelli for his years of support as state representative. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires held its ninth annual nonprofit awards last week honoring the contributions of those who have helped the community in their own way.

 

The gathering at the Country Club in Pittsfield on Tuesday included the introduction of new nonprofit Executive Director Samantha Anderson, who steps in for retiring founder and director Liana Toscanini. State Reps. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, John Barrett III and Leigh Davis attended the event.

 

Toscanini, who created NPC in 2016, was honored at the conclusion of the evening to mark her decade leading the organization. 

 

"Founders don't just lead organizations, they are the organization in the deepest sense," said NPC Board President Emily Schiavoni. "Their relationships, their instincts, their fingerprints are on everything, and when someone has poured a decade of herself into building something from the ground up, the act of stepping back is not a simple handoff, it's an act of extraordinary trust and courage that brings me to what Leanna actually built." 

 

NPC became something of a chamber of commerce for nonprofits under Toscanini's guidance, creating a hub of support for leadership and networking for the small and large nonprofits that fuel much of the activity within the Berkshires. 

 

She developed more than two dozen programs, including Get on Board, which helps connect community members with nonprofit boards, and a giving-back guide, volunteer fairs, and a resource directory.

 

Schiavoni described Toscanini as a great mentor who has had a big impact in strengthening local nonprofits.