Pittsfield Announces a New Program to Help Fill Vacant Storefronts

07:58PM / Monday, May 18, 2026Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City of Pittsfield announced the availability of refundable state tax credits for businesses through the Massachusetts Vacant Storefront Program (MVSP).

These credits are offered to companies that choose to occupy commercial spaces that have been vacant for at least six to twelve months.

The MVSP was established to support municipalities in revitalizing their downtown and commercial districts. By encouraging businesses to move into long-term vacant storefronts, the program aims to foster economic development and invigorate community spaces. Refundable tax credits serve as an incentive for businesses to fill key vacancies within a city's downtown or commercial area.

To further these efforts, the City of Pittsfield is collaborating with Downtown Pittsfield Inc. and the Berkshire Black Economic Council. These organizations are working alongside the city to assist businesses interested in occupying vacant storefronts, particularly in the downtown area and along the Tyler Street corridor.

For more details about the Massachusetts Vacant Storefront Program and how to participate, reach out to Justine Dodds at the City's Department of Community Development at jdodds@pittsfieldma.gov or 413-499-9368.

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Dalton Considers Updating its Municipal Code

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
01:21PM / Thursday, August 27, 2026

DALTON, Mass. — The town is considering updating its original 18-year municipal code to 2026 standards.

During a recent Select Board meeting, General Code New England account manager Zach Dumont outlined the 18- to-24 month process.

General Code New England is a division of the International Code Council, which writes all the statewide building codes across the United States. For the last 18 years, the organization has been the codifier for municipalities.

"We work with communities to build, maintain, and update your local municipal code. That is your collection of bylaws, ordinances, regulations, and any other legislation you've ever adopted," Dumont said.

Once the project is complete, the town would have a fully updated set of books and an improved eCode360 site, he said.

"The way the process would work is we would put together a scope of work, a timeline, a price point, and everything that we would want to touch or do as a part of the code project," Dumont said.

When a municipal code is built, it has a general lifespan of about 15 to 20 years, and although that is a long time, it goes by very quickly, he said.

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