Friday Front Porch Feature: A House Perfect for a Retreat

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Are you looking for a spacious private retreat with exciting features. Then this is the home for you.

Our Friday Front Porch is a weekly feature spotlighting attractive homes for sale in Berkshire County. This week, we are showcasing 1030 Simonds Road.

This five-bedroom and five-bathroom post and beam home was built in 1986. The house is 4,102 square feet on a little over seven acres. 

The house comes with kitchen appliances like a cooktop and dishwasher. It also features an attached two-car garage, a sauna, fireplace, finished basement, wraparound deck and lots of natural light.

We spoke to real estate agent Carrie Swift Heck with Compass Massachusetts LLC.

What do you think makes this property stand out in the current market?

Heck: This seven-acre property has beautiful grounds and gardens, and also abuts Trustees of Reservation's Mountain Meadow Preserve land and hiking trails. The outdoor space feels made for gardening and relaxing. There's a wraparound deck along the front and side, and a second deck in the back garden area as well as a pergola covered in vines. The home really feels like a part of its natural habitat. 

What was your first impression when you walked into the home?

The house feels like it has space for everyone to have their own privacy, but also has a strong focus on gathering. You can easily see your family in the eat-in kitchen playing games by the wood stove, playing pool in the basement rec room, or having holiday gatherings in the great room. The light coming through at all angles, garden views from every room on the main floor, and the unique beam ceilings all make the home feel very cozy for a home of its size. 

Do you know any unique stories about the home or its history?

The current owners bought the home only a decade after it was built. They've raised their family there and made it their own. After three decades in the same family, it's ready for its next chapter. 

What kind of buyer would this home be ideal for?

While this home certainly has something for anyone, it has been a family home since it was built, and was built with family in mind. That being said, it has all the makings of a home-away-from-home retreat as well — with a soaking tub, sauna, and central wood-burning fireplace. I can see it being a great getaway for winter skiing and summer adventuring. 

Are there any recent renovations or standout design features?

There is a newer addition that is a large primary suite with a walk-in closet and bathroom with a separate shower and soaking tub. They really maximized the natural light by adding two walls of windows, a skylight tube in the closet, and a picture window above the tub. They took advantage of the renovation to put on an enduring metal roof in a fantastic granite color.

What would you say to a buyer trying to imagine their life in this space?

I would say that the possibilities are endless. There are: two primary suites; a third-level bonus space; a huge garage with loft space above; a sauna, wood stove, and pool table in the basement; a wet bar in the dining area. This home has so many cool features that could easily be reimagined in today's script. 

You can find out more about this house on its listing here.

*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.

Williams College Lone Suitor for Development of Water Street Lot

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
11:15AM / Thursday, April 16, 2026

Williams College hopes to replace the current Facilities Services building on Latham Street and use that space for a new  athletics complex. 

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — If the town accepts an offer from Williams College, a 1.27-acre lot that long has been eyed as a possible venue for housing and economic development instead will find a use similar to its history.

 

The college was the lone respondent to the town's request for proposals to purchase and develop 59 Water St., a dirt lot known around town as the "old town garage site." This was first reported Wednesday by Greylock News. 

 

If successful, the college plans to use the former town garage property for the school's Facilities Services building. Or it could be turned back into a parking lot.

 

Williams' offer includes a $500,000 upfront payment and a 10-year agreement to make $50,000 annual donations to the Mount Greylock Regional School District according to the proposal unsealed on Wednesday afternoon.

 

If it closes the deal, the college said it will explore development of a three- to four-story Facilities Services building with "a structured parking facility providing approximately 170 spaces."

 

"[I]f site constraints impact our ability to develop both structured parking and the Facilities Services building, our backup proposal is to develop the parking structure with approximately 170 spaces, also with capacity to support institutional and public needs," the college's proposal reads.

 

The college's current Facilities property at 60 Latham St. has an assessed value — for the .42-acre lot only — of $113,000 and an annual property tax bill of $1,606, according to the town's website.