Mill Town Closes on Site 9, Woodlawn Ave. Property
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The first purchase of land at Site 9 in the William Stanley Business Park has gone through.
Mill Town Capital has closed on 4.7 acres on the overhauled GE site once described as looking like the face of the moon, as well as some land across the street for a residential building. The purchase price is $200,000.
"This is an exciting moment because Mill Town was at the table at the very, very beginning of the grant process for the cracking and crushing and greening of Site 9. They've stood by us every step of the way," board Chair Jonathan Denmark said to the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority last week.
"It's also a monumental occasion, because after 25-something years, this is the first land sale from the William Stanley Business Park, and we're all excited."
Mill Town in 2024 announced its intent to purchase acreage on Site 9 and land across the street at 100 Woodlawn Ave.
The 16-acre parcel at the corner of Woodlawn Avenue and Tyler Street Extension previously housed a General Electric factory and is the largest and most prominent section of the business park. Now, it is greened over with a loop of paved access road.
There was some reference to recent hesitancy about the estimate of high construction costs, but the investment firm reportedly chose to proceed because of its faith in this location.
Pittsfield's Business Development Manager Michael Coakley said Mill Town will need to make the numbers work and then find a tenant before breaking ground, and that it won't be right away. The closing had on the site had been the day prior.
Coakley reported that there is also a "pretty interested" buyer, a pharmaceutical research and development company, for a couple of acres on Site 9.
In May, PEDA got an update from Jennings Real Estate Services Inc., which is marketing the park. The firm said the overall development environment is challenging everywhere because of high construction and labor costs, and smaller businesses see the cost of development and their ability to continue, while some big corporations have no tolerance for anything perceived as a brownfield.
The state Department of Environmental Protection had approved an amended grant of easement and restriction for environmental conditions, allowing for restaurants and retailers on the site.
PEDA received a $500,000 grant from MassDevelopment to begin planning for the same process on Site 7 and Site 8.
"The real question over there is, can we build on top of that current foundation there?" Coakley said, explaining that they originally thought they would be able to build on the Site 9 foundation, but that turned out to be untrue.
"… We're hoping that it's going to be OK for Site 8, and that had a five-story building on there, so we'll see."
Linda Tyer, PEDA member and former mayor, said that in her opinion, what has held the redevelopment of this park back is the condition of the different sites. In 2021, under her leadership, Pittsfield received $880,000 in Site Readiness Program funding from the state's Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development for Site 9.
"They were not ready for any kind of redevelopment, and this kind of early work is essential in positioning us for future grants for renovation, reconstruction, demolition, whatever is needed," Tyer said.
"And so I'm really glad that these steps are happening now. Probably should have happened 10 years ago, but here we are."
Tags: business park, General Electric, mill town, PEDA,
