Jack Miller Contractors Purchase Williamstown Building

03:46PM / Wednesday, February 25, 2026Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On Jan. 16, Jack Miller Contractors (JMC) acquired property at 824 Simonds Road in Williamstown.

Built in 1954, the business (formerly known as Express Mart and JJ's Coffee & Convenience Store) is located at the southeast corner of Sand Springs Road and Simonds Road (Route 7). The 0.39-acre site is set in the town's Planned Business Zoning District.

JMC worked with Maureen M. Dietze of Alton & Westall Real Estate Agency to purchase the property, now under the ownership of 824 Simonds LLC, from Reinland Property Management LLC. Prior to the purchase, SK Design Group of Pittsfield performed an Environmental Site Assessment for the vacant commercial property on behalf of the new owner.

"This move will allow us to better serve our clients in the Berkshires and Southern Vermont as well as Eastern New York State, and we're thrilled to soon occupy a strategic site for the integration and expansion of our business after many years in search of the right location," said Jack Miller, founder and principal of JMC. "The JMC team is eager to work alongside local trade partners and collaborators who will help bring our vision to life."

In January, JMC received Williamstown's approval to renovate and expand the convenience store property to serve as its new headquarters, which will be surrounded by a mix of commercial and residential properties in all directions. The Planning Board approved a redevelopment plan to add approximately 2,100 square feet to the 1,305-square-foot one-story building and to create 10 parking spots. The design plan includes green shielding and reduces the amount of impervious surface on the lot by about 2,700 square feet.

The conversion of the commercial retail space to professional contractor offices will allow JMC to locate all facilities under one roof including offices, meeting space and a small storage area, and to provide employees with a place to work. In addition, the building will energize the creation of a new home services branch. This concierge service will include both comprehensive proactive care for high-end properties, and management of select smaller projects to complement JMC's custom home building business.

"We're glad to be a part of the ongoing improvement to the northern entry to town," added Miller. "We look forward to unifying our field and office-based teams, and turning the current site into an attractive property for our community."

JMC has engaged the services of Burr and McCallum Architects based in Williamstown to develop plans for the property. The design will focus on utilitarian layouts and prioritize functionality, clean lines and natural light. The mid-century building will reflect the characteristics and style of a 1950s machine shop.

The addition of native plants and trees will further enhance the setting, which is now mostly asphalt. Completion of construction is expected in late 2026 with a move-in date around the same time.

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Williamstown Finance Committee Begins FY27 Budget Review

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
05:49AM / Tuesday, February 24, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Finance Committee last week began its review of an "unexciting" fiscal year 2027 budget while continuing to monitor an unappealing trend line that could see the town facing a Proposition 2 1/2 override as soon as FY29.

Town meeting will have the levy capacity to approve the FY27 budget as drafted and presented by the town manager on Wednesday, partly because the spending plan for the year that begins on July 1 includes just one noteworthy increase in discretionary municipal spending.

As drafted, the FY27 budget would result in a projected 7.69 percent in the property tax levy from the current fiscal year — pending the final numbers from the town's largest cost center, the Mount Greylock Regional School District, which will not finalize its assessments to its member towns until March 19.

The town hall side of spending is up by about 2.8 percent in the proposed budget. Most of that is attributable to cost-of-living increases for current employees and fixed costs, like the town's contribution for employees' health insurance.

"The one thing I would say is apologies for bringing a boring budget forward that doesn't have a lot of excitement," Town Manager Robert Menicocci told the Finance Committee. "But with this audience, it's, 'Hey, we brought something really exciting to you guys. The growth is modest given all the pressures that are out there.'

"We're maintaining services as we know them. I think that's really strong news given the pressures that are out there. There's no erosion of services. There's no erosion of staff. We haven't had to go through a cut exercise. Still, that's at the expense of relying on the taxpayer to pay more taxes this upcoming year."

Finance Director David Fierro Jr. told the Fin Comm that most of the increases in expenses are because of the town's negotiated cost-of-living adjustments. He also included an estimated 9 percent increase in the assessment from Mount Greylock and a 10 percent increase in the much smaller assessment from the Northern Berkshire Vocational Regional School District (McCann Technical School).

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