Berkshire Business Journal December 2023

One shoe at a time AJ Bowman is the co-founder of Boatman, an e-commerce business that wants to help the environment by selling shoes made from cactus leather. Page 2

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Berkshire Business Journal DECEMBER 2023 I VOL. 2, NO. 12

Leaving farms in local hands

BETH CARLSON

This stand of black locust trees remains at River Run Farm in Great Barrington after some careful timber harvesting. Black locusts are hardwoods, and the wood from the harvested trees will be used to make fence posts.

The Farmsteads for Farmers campaign is working to keep Berkshire farmland under local ownership

BY JIM T HERRIEN GREAT BARRINGTON — Land insecurity for Berkshire County farmers came dramatically into focus in 2021.

That’s when Molly Comstock lost her farm on leased land in Alford to a scorching real estate market sparked by the advent of COVID-19..

An unprecedented stampede of urban dwellers, eager to buy in scenic, less crowded areas, sent prices into orbit in the Berkshires, which further imperiled small farms.

“COVID was sort of like the accelerant on the fire,” said Sarah Downie, a board member of the Berkshire Community Land Trust in Great Barrington.

Fortunately, an innovative ownership-and-lease formula, developed at the end of the last century to preserve another Berkshire farm, was renewed by the Land Trust. It’s resulted in the Farmsteads for Farmers fundraising campaign, which is moving toward its initial goal of purchasing farmland in Great Barrington to lease to local farmers.

The long-range hope is that the same purchase-and-lease process will be replicated elsewhere in the county.

So how did this all start? Let’s go back to Alford.

“I think the trigger for it was Molly Comstock,” Downie said.

Comstock had been operating Colfax Farm in Alford on leased land, but that property was only secured “under a short-term, sort of handshake lease,” Downie said.

“The owner decided to sell,” Downie said. “So as a result, Molly lost her land where she had spent a considerable amount of time and effort and money building up the infrastructure. She basically lost all that.”

“Something really needed to be done.”

Comstock’s situation was not unique, Downie and others said. Worsening land insecurity is the norm for farmers here and around the region.

But this incident in particular aroused many people and organizations in South County. They included the land trust, the wider community, the

town of Great Barrington’s Community Preservation Committee; numerous individuals who were willing to donate, and state government, which provided grant funding.

A MODEL RESCUE The formula the land trust is utilizing to preserve operating farms today is based on a trust/lease format that was developed more than two decades ago to rescue Indian Line Farm in Great Barrington from likely development.

Under this format, farmland is purchased, held in trust, then leased long term to farmers. The farmer owns and can gain equity in the farm buildings and infrastructure. These can then be transferred or sold to another farmer while the land remains in trust for the next tenant.

“The Berkshire Community Land Trust model is a really effective solution,” Downie said.

“The barriers to entry for small farmers are pretty high, and the cost of land is one of those barriers,” Downie said.

“If the trend continues, the situation looks pretty bleak for local small farms.”

Participating farmers also agree to a land use management plan that requires the use of regenerative farming techniques to restore the soil and other agricultural methods and/or conservation measures.

The Farmsteads for Farmers campaign is currently managing an ambitious plan to purchase 79-acre River Run Farm on North Plain Road in Great Barrington, where the asking price is $1.65 million. According to Beth Carlson, who is managing the campaign, that goal is now within the group’s reach.

What’s been crucial to that effort from the beginning is the financial support provided by philanthropist Jane Iredale, the founder and former CEO of Iredale Mineral Cosmetics in Great Barrington. Iredale has informally partnered with the land trust to acquire the farm property, according to Downie and Carlson.

They said Iredale doesn’t intend to FARMSTEADS, Page 14

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Berkshire Business Journal

December 2023

Business updates

An ambitious plan to save the environment

Young Pittsfield entrepreneur heads e-commerce business featuring eco-friendly shoes made from cactus leather

GILLIAN JONES-HECK

AJ Bowman of Lanesborough, the co-founder of Boatman, a recently formed Berkshire-based e-commerce business, holds his company’s first product, “The Yachty,” an eco-friendly boat shoe made from cactus leather.

By John Townes PITTSFIELD — Andrew James Bowman is

only 23, but he’s always been ambitious.

Bowman, who grew up in Pittsfield, embarked on his first entrepreneurial venture while in his teens, when he bought a residential property, rented it out, and acquired several others.

“My biggest fear is being average,” said Bowman, who goes by AJ. “Ever since I was very young, I’ve wanted to build a successful business, rather than

working for other people. I believe that if you want to achieve success, it’s best to take the risks while you’re young.”

Now Bowman has his chance.

He recently formed Boatman, a Pittsfield-based e-commerce business that launched publicly in August. He’s aiming to grow Boatman by producing and selling shoes, attire, and personal accessories made with plant-based leather and other environmentally sustainable materials.

“Save the Earth, one style at a time,” is the company’s motto.

Boatman’s initial product is The Yachty, a boat shoe made with leather produced from cactus bushes, which he has launched nationwide. The soles are produced with milk extracted from the rubber plant rather than artificial materials.

“It’s a vegan product that is completely sustainable, cruelty free and is not made with dangerous chemicals, phthalates, or PVC,” said Bowman, who is Boatman’s co-founder, co-owner, and president.

“The shoes are also rated to last 10 years under normal circumstances and are

partially biodegradable when it’s time to dispose of them.”

Boat shoes (also known as deck shoes) are laced loafers, footwear similar to moccasins. They are frequently worn by people while boating, but Bowman emphasized their uses and market are broader. The Yachty has other characteristics that can appeal to consumers, including comfort and durability, he said.

“They’re suited for casual everyday BOATMAN, Page 3

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Boatman FROM PAGE 2

use and special occasions,” he said. “I wear boat shoes on a daily basis, which is one reason we chose that as our first product.”

He’s selling his shoes initially online through his company’s e-commerce website, boatmanstyle.com. But he’s already thinking bigger. Bowman said he’s negotiating with wholesalers so he can also sell his shoes in retail stores.

The company’s name is a pun and is based on the combination of Bowman’s last name and his product that is used on boats. Boatman is based out of an office at Bowman’s home in Lanesborough. He has contracted out the manufacturing and other support services.

He co-founded Boatman with his sister, Shayla Murray, who is his business partner and the limited liability company’s CEO. The two siblings have also received assistance and support from their mother, Amy Bartini Kohlenberger. Friends and regional economic-development organizations, like the Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corporation, have also lent a hand.

“We are aiming to become a major brand with an international market,” Bowman said.

To do that, Bowman said his goal is to expand Boatman’s product lines over time to include different styles of footwear, along with products like leather wallets, bags, jackets, and other attire and personal accessories. Boatman is about to release its next products: a luggage tag, and a tracker tag with a small chip that can be used to locate objects.

The connection between all these products is that they are “eco-friendly”, meaning that they are made with materials and manufacturing methods that avoid the use of toxic chemicals as much as possible. The products also do not involve the use of animals and are based on standards of fair labor and sourcing practices, according to Bowman.

Bowman also wants to expand Boatman’s presence in the Berkshire economy by setting up shop in an area that has had troubling attracting tenants.

“Our five-to-10-year business plan includes establishing a headquarters and an order-fulfillment center in the William Stanley Business Park in Pittsfield,” he said.

Boatman reflects Bowman’s interests in quality attire and his values, he said.

He also sees the firm as a commercial opportunity in a growing segment of the apparel industry. He said there is an increasing demand for alternatives in that sector that address issues raised by common manufacturing practices like toxic materials and socially harmful manufacturing processes.

“It’s vital to deal with environmental problems like climate change now,” he said. “That’s also where the apparel industry is heading. The future of fashion is green.”

(Bowman recently participated in a panel discussion on sustainability that was sponsored by the Berkshire Innovation Center in Pittsfield. The event can be viewed online through the link “Recycled Materials Innovations” at www.berkshireinnovationcenter.com/ bic-presents-events.)

Bowman came up with the concept for Boatman three years ago while working for Onyx Specialty Papers in Lee, where he had been employed after graduating from Taconic High School.

“The idea hit me one day when I looked at the pulp that was used to manufacture paper,” he said. “I thought ‘Why not use pulp to produce stylish attire on a sustainable basis?’ I started to research the subject.”

His personal affinity for boat shoes, and what he learned about the shoe industry’s environmental impacts, led Bowman to launch “The Yachty” as Boatman’s first product.

“The shoe industry is a major source of greenhouse gases and other pollution,” he said. “The raising of animals to make leather also contributes to problems such as deforestation. So that’s an area of manufacturing in which a different approach can have a positive impact.”

After refining his initial idea into a

Berkshire Business Journal more specific product, Bowman retained local patent attorney Giovanna Fessenden of Lenox, who is a member of the BIC’s board of directors. The Yachty received patent-pending status in 2020, and was granted a final patent this year “This is unique because it’s the world’s first boat shoe made with cactus leather,” Bowman said.

Two years ago, Bowman entered his product in a local pitch competition sponsored by the Berkshire County Chapter of Entrepreneurship For All in Pittsfield, which helps budding entrepreneurs develop their products and business plans. The products in each competition are evaluated by a panel of judges. The Yachty finished first in the Fan Favorite category and received a $500 prize.

Bowman also applied for and received funding and support from PERC, which included a $7,500 grant to cover his initial legal fees. He received additional advisory services from Robin Helfand, a small business owner who owns Robin’s Candy in Great Barrington, and operates her own consulting firm, RH Consultants.

Bowman credits their help with getting Boatman to where it is today.

“We couldn’t have gotten this far without PERC and Robin,” Bowman said.

Boatman also received $300,000 in seed funding in the form of a microloan from Common Capital, a non-profit community loan fund, and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“That enabled us to launch nationally,” Bowman said.

Part of the process of building the company was to identify processes and systems to design, produce and sell the shoes on a practical basis while adhering to the company’s stated values.

Although the goals of building a sustainable business based on fair trade practices are straightforward in theory, putting them into practice is complex and often challenging, Bowman sad.

For example, Boatman’s shoes are manufactured in Mexico, although Bowman originally wanted to make them domestically.

“We found that producing them in the United States would have been far too expensive,” he said. “So we conducted many hours of research to find international companies we could work with.”

To get the leather to make these shoes, Bowman chose “Desserto”, a brand developed and is produced by Mexican entrepreneurs Adrián López Velarde and Marte Cázarez. Desserto cultivates Nepo cactus — known more commonly as prickly pear — on a Mexican ranch. The cactus is ground into a pulp, then tanned and made into leather in a process that uses natural compounds rather than chromium or other chemicals.

“This type of cactus produces quality leather,” said Bowman. “The cactus plant itself is environmentally beneficial because it is good at carbon sequestration.

It is also practical because it grows prolifically in its native climate. “ To help design the shoes, Boatman retained FITT Design, a London-based company.

“We developed the basic concept and requirements for the shoe, and they created the final design for us,” said Bowman.

Boatman contracts with Shoemaker International to produce the shoes.

Shoemaker is a Los Angeles-based footwear and accessories manufacturer, school, and network of international development and production companies that provides services for businesses like Boatman.

Bowman sends “tech packs” containing the specifications of his product to Shoemaker International, which then arranges and oversees its production before the shoes are manufactured by an affiliate company in Mexico. Orders are handled through Los Angeles Express, which operates a warehouse in that Southern California city.

Cactus isn’t the only plant that is being used to make leather. According to Bowman, pineapples and mushrooms are being used too.

“We looked at other options and decided that cactus leather is best suited for us right now,” he said. “However, we’re also looking into additional types of plantbased leather for future products.”

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Retiring but not quite yet O’Brien to retire as head of Adams Community Bank in 2025

“The time has come,” said O’Brien, who will be 66 and a half when he officially leaves. “I’ve been here since 1997.

It’s time to pass the baton to somebody else.”

O’Brien, who served as chairman of

By Tony Dobrowolski the Massachusetts Bankers Association from 2017 to 2018, leaves with the ADAMS — Charlie O’Brien, the president bank in a good place. In 2021, Adams and CEO of Adams Community Community Bank posted record Bank, is planning to retire, but highs in assets, loans, deposits he’s not leaving right away. and net income. That was the O’Brien, who has worked in year the bank had reorganized the financial services indusits business model from a mutry for 43 years, will stay in his tual savings bank into a capital current position for another 13 stock savings bank, while conmonths until January 2025. currently forming both a stock The bank decided to make the O’Brien holding company and a mutual announcement now because holding company.

O’Brien’s retirement was planned in This year, the bank has opened two advance, and officials wanted to avoid new branches in Pittsfield and Great speculation about the reasons for his Barrington, the first time it has operatdeparture. ed an office in either of those Berkshire “It’s always good to get out in front of municipalities. the narrative,” said O’Brien, who is 65.

Adams Community Bank, whose “In the press release we used the word origins date back to 1869, was formed planned retirement. That’s intentional. in 2012 when Adams Cooperative “Sometimes people get the wrong Bank and South Adams Savings Bank idea or impression that, if the president merged. Under O’Brien’s leadership, of the bank is leaving; what’s going on Adams Community Bank’s assets have and is there a problem?” he said. “All increased from $127 million to $994 milyou need to do is look at the headlines lion, its branches from three to 10 and from earlier this year when banks were its employees from 40 to 130. failing out in California and the bank “It’s been great to see our staff evolve president is probably leaving. and grow and thrive,” O’Brien said.

“So it’s always good to stay ahead of O’Brien had served as president and the narrative and make sure it’s viewed CEO of South Adams Savings Bank bein a positive way instead of a negative fore the merger, then became president way.” of the new entity after the two financial To prepare for O’Brien’s retirement, institutions joined forces. He added the Adams Community Bank has already CEO title to his resume later in 2012 engaged an executive search firm to after former Adams Cooperative Bank look for his successor, “ensuring the president Joseph Truskowski Jr. rebank’s continued success and commit- tired. ment to the community,” the bank statA native of Manhasset, N.Y., on ed in a news release.

Long Island, O’Brien spent nine years O’Brien said recently that the bank at the New Bedford Institute for Savhopes to have his successor onboard ings before coming to the Berkshires. by next September so that he can work During his career, the Pace University with his replacement before he leaves.

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Berkshire Business Journal

December 2023

Business updates Berkshire Bank provides $426Kin philanthropic investments

was purchased by the nonprofit, held a soft opening of two of its four theaters on Nov. 17. A third theater is scheduled to open in mid-December.

Berkshire Bank provided more than $426,000 in foundation philanthropic investments during the third quarter of 2023.

The bank assisted 124 nonprofit organizations with funding to support the communities Berkshire Bank serves in its five-state footprint.

The grants covered a range of projects that include arts, education, environment, health, housing, seniors and diversity, equity and inclusion, while benefiting individuals throughout the region — particularly underrepresented populations. These investments also support the company’s BEST Community Comeback, which includes a planned $15 million in community contributions by the end of 2024.

Programs that align with Berkshire Bank’s Center for Women, Wellness, and Wealth were also supported.

Berkshire County recipients include Berkshires Tomorrow; Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity; Festival Latino of the Berkshires; Flying Cloud Institute; Literacy Network of South Berkshire; Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Foundation; Pittsfield Babe Ruth Baseball; 2nd Street Second Chances; The Brien Center for Mental Health & Substance Abuse; and UCP of Western Massachusetts.

1Berkshire holding annual meeting 1Berkshire will hold its annual meeting at 3 p.m. Dec. 14 at the Stationery Factory in Dalton. All members are welcome.

Status and programming reports will be given, fiscal analysis will be discussed, and official board business will be conducted. Networking opportunities will also be available.

Information: 1berkshire.com.

Micro manufacturer given citation from state Senate B&B Micro Manufacturing of Adams recently received a citation from the state Senate during an awards ceremony that was held during the eighth-annual Massachusetts Manufacturing Awards ceremony in the DCU Club at Polar Park in Worcester.

The firm, one of the country’s largest micro-manufacturing businesses, was recognized for its outstanding leadership skills and dedication to the state’s manufacturing industry. B&B was nominated for the award by state Sen. Paul Mark, D-Becket.

“B&B Micro Manufacturing is an exciting local company finding success by tackling one of the most important issues of the day, the need for quality affordable housing,” Mark said in a news release. “I applaud the company for their good work supporting our region through innovation, partnership with the community, and manufacturing a great product right here in Massachusetts.”

Hosted by the state Legislature’s Manufacturing Caucus and sponsored

by MassMEP and MassTech Collaborative, this was the third time the event was held at Polar Park. It was the largest ceremony in the event’s history as 1,500 people were in attendance.

Berkshire County Arc raises $45K at annual golf tourney Berkshire County Arc raised $45,500 at its 28th annual golf classic,

Greylock Credit Union branches earn national designation

STEPHANIE M. DOZOIS

Jason Koperniak, center, one of the three partners who own B&B Micro Manufacturing in Adams, received a citation given to the company by the state Senate, during a ceremony that took place at the eighth-annual Massachusetts Manufacturing Awards ceremony in Worcester. which was held recently at Berkshire Hills Country Club.

The funds go directly to people with disabilities for activities such as art classes, medical equipment, wheelchair swings, concerts, assistive technology, and dream trips to places like Disney, Boston Celtics games, and deep-sea fishing.

The funding also goes to scholarships for area high school students who are planning to pursue human service careers.

BCArc serves around 1,000 people with disabilities through a range of programs that include residential services, employment support, day programs, and support for families at their homes.

New England Public Media receives $3 million gift New England Public Media in Springfield recently received $3 million — the largest gift in its history — from the late Walter J. Wolnik of Amherst, a longtime listener.

Wolnik’s bequest will support NEPM’s ongoing commitment to presenting classical music on the radio in Western Massachusetts, with a specific focus on access to classical music overnight.

Wolnik died at 76 on Sept. 20, 2022. He was a longtime listener to NEPM, and was especially fond of classical music in the overnight hours.

Earlier this fall, NEPM moved to strengthen its classical radio offering by launching Classical NEPM, a 24-hour service to better serve its classical music audience.

Classical NEPM airs full time on 89.5 FM in Southern Berkshire County; and 98.9 FM in Northern Berkshire County.

Dalton, Windsor receive Green Communities grants The towns of Dalton and Windsor are

among 27 municipalities across the state that have received a total of $3.3 million in Green Communities competitive grants from the Healey-Driscoll Administration.

Windsor received a $38,350 grant, while Dalton received $11,409. The grants provide financial support for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that further the designated communities’ clean energy goals and are awarded to existing Green Communities that have successfully invested their initial designation grants and previous competitive grant awards.

Funding for these grants is available through proceeds from carbon allowance auctions under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

“The Green Communities program helps our cities and towns make important investments at the local level to achieve their own climate goals and lower carbon emissions,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “This moves us forward on our clean energy path and lessens our reliance on volatile fossil fuels, lowering costs and risks for our communities and their residents and businesses.”

Triplex Cinema Inc. obtains grant from Fitzpatrick Trust The Triplex Cinema Inc. has received a $150,000 grant from the Jane and Jack Fitzpatrick Trust.

The trust is a private charitable foundation founded in 2004 by the late Jane and Jack Fitzpatrick, the owners of The Red Lion Inn. The grant serves as a major boost toward ensuring the reopening of two of The Triplex’s four theaters and bringing the cinema complex back to life.

“We cannot thank the trust’s decision-makers enough,” said Nicki Wilson, board president of Triplex Cinema Inc. The Triplex, which closed in July and

Two additional Greylock Federal Credit Union branches have received a national designation given to credit unions that are committed to serving and empowering Hispanic and immigrant consumers.

The credit union’s branches on Kellogg Street in Pittsfield and in Greenport-Hudson in Columbia County, N.Y., have both earned the designation “Juntos Avanzamos,” which means “Together We Advance.” Credit unions receive this designation for helping Hispanic and immigrant consumers navigate the U.S. financial system and provide safe, affordable and relevant financial services.

The Juntos Avanzamos designation comes through Greylock’s affiliation with Inclusiv, a member-based credit union organization that empowers credit unions to advance financial inclusion through advocacy, education, technology, and impact investment.

Two other Greylock branches — in Lee and on West Street in Pittsfield — had previously earned the designation, which the company recently celebrated with flag ceremonies.

Brien Center joins UniCare’s provider network The Brien Center for Mental Health & Substance Abuse is one of four behavioral health care practices based in Western Massachusetts that has joined UniCare of Woburn’s provider network.

UniCare administers health benefits for more than 20,000 Massachusetts state and municipal employees, retirees and their families.

The three other Western Massachusetts-based behavioral health care practices joining UniCare’s network are Clinical Support Options of Northampton; Colorful Resilience of West Springfield; and Multicultural Clinical Services of Amherst.

Information: unicaremass.com.

BCC program accredited Berkshire Community College’s Health Information Management Certificate Program has received accreditation from the American Health Information Management Association Professional Certificate Approval Program.

The PCAP approval identifies coding and HIM education programs that have been evaluated by a peer review process against national minimum standards for entry-level professionals.

The approval designation assures health care providers that certificate holders of BCC’s Health Information Management Certificate Program have the necessary job skills to attain success in entry-level health information management positions.

Only 27 such programs across the country have achieved the PCAP certification from AHIMA, according to Laurie Vilord, BCC adjunct faculty member for medical coding.

The Medical Coding and Health Information Management Department at BCC was created 10 years ago.

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December 2023

Berkshire Business Journal

5

Business updates

standing with both the state and city.

Businesses that received funds in the first round are not eligible to reapply, but property owners can apply for different locations. Those not selected in the first round can reapply for the second round.

The first-round application of intent for the second round of this grant program is due by 11:59 p.m. Dec. 31.

Applications/program criteria: tinyurl.com/2t9485ff. Paper copies of the application are available at Downtown Pittsfield Inc., at 33 Dunham Mall.

For information, contact DPI Managing Director Rebecca Brien at 413-4436501 or email businessdevelopment@ downtownpittsfield.com.

FROM PAGE 4

Great Barrington achieves AAA bond rating The town of Great Barrington has been assigned a AAA bond rating by Standard & Poors, a designation that affords the town the most favorable terms for borrowing.

Bond proceeds will be used to finance various capital projects in town. S&P based its rating on the town’s strong economy and property values, strong financial policies and capital plan management; budgetary flexibility and strong liquidity; and strong management of the town’s pension plan “This designation reflects the work of the town Finance Committee and Selectboard, and is ultimately a benefit to our town taxpayers,” said Town Manager Mark Pruhenski, in a news release.

Pruhenski also credited Town Accountant Allie Crespo and Treasurer/ Collector Alicia Dulin for their work in managing town finances. As a result of this favorable bond rating, Dulin earned a 3.805 percent interest rate for a 20-year bond issue that will finance various capital projects in town. UBS Financial Services Inc. was the winning bidder.

Fairview Hospital raises $35K Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington raised $35,000 for investment in surgical technology at its 2023 Golf Classic, which took place recently at Stockbridge Golf Club.

At a post-play reception, tournament co-chairs Kate McCormick and Aidan Gilligan introduced Dr. George Veinoglou, who thanked the community for past tournament support. Prizes were awarded to the top five gross and net teams. Gross prizes were awarded to the five teams with the lowest scores.

First place: Defending champs, Team Berkshire Bank (Ed Harvey, Sandy Turner, Roman Montano and Doug Roberts) Second place: Pam Sandler Team Third place: Proper Connections Team Fourth place: Party of Fore Fifth place: Hill-Engineers, Architects, Planners Inc.

Carr Hardware raises $7K for Berkshire Humane Society With assistance from its customers, Carr Hardware marked its 95th year in business by raising $7,232 for the Berkshire Humane Society during the company’s recent Carr-nniversary weekend.

During that weekend, Carr Hardware hosted a bucket sale that allowed customers to purchase a bucket that they could then fill with discounted products. During the month of September customers were offered the option to round-up their purchases to the nearest dollar. The bucket sale and the Round Up were used to raise the $7,232.

“Our four legged friends need food, shelter, veterinary care and a suitable home,” said company president Bart Raser in a news release. “Nobody does this better than the Berkshire Humane Society and they need financial support to continue their good work.

Carr Hardware has a long-standing history of working with the Berkshire Humane Society.

Berkshire Medical Center receives $24K planning grant

BERKSHIRE COUNTY ARC

Officials from Berkshire Bank recently conducted a series of financial literacy classes with clients of Berkshire County Arc at the bank’s operational headquarters in Pittsfield.

The teachers and students discussed budgeting, the understanding of credit and debt, how to recognize fraudulent activity and more. The instructors included, from left to right, Becky Sorrentino, Berkshire Bank’s vice president, relationship manager and MyBanker representative; Retail Loan Servicing Generalist Lauran Laurent; and Cindy Polidoro, the manager of the bank’s financial center on Elm Street in Pittsfield.

Elder Services elects, reappoints board members Elder Services of Berkshire County both reelected and reappointed board members recently at its 49th annual meeting at Berkshire Hills Country Club.

David Twiggs and Sandy Carroll were both reappointed to second twoyear terms on the board of directors.

Randy Burdick, Roberta Gale, Georgette Kinney, Frank Engels and John Graziano were each elected to a third, two-year term. Engels received special recognition for serving as board president for two terms.

Officers elected were Jeffrey Menkes, board president; Bruce Bernstein, vice president; and Kinney, treasurer.

Departing members Mary K. O’ Brien and Teresa Caldwell were recognized for their many years of service to the board of directors.

Staff services awards were presented to 11 staff members who reached service milestones during the past year.

They included Karen Bates with 15 years of service, Maureen Tuggey and Cindy Danforth each with 20 years of service and Wesley Sagendorph, who has been a Meals on Wheels Driver for 30 years.

Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue was the guest of honor and keynote speaker.

Christopher McLaughlin, executive director of Elder Services, highlighted the agency’s many achievements over the past year.

MCLA receives grant from Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts has received a $626,536 Workforce Development Grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.

Over the next two years, this grant will fund the purchase of essential equipment for the college’s biology and chemistry programs. MCLA was previously awarded $253,542 from the center in 2022 to support its equipment needs.

The grant will purchase equipment that is essential to pharmaceutical design, biomanufacturing and biomedical research. Additionally, other lab equipment will be updated to improve data integrity and accuracy. These specific instruments are equivalent or identical to our industry partners’ tools, and crucial to student training and career preparation.

MLSC seeks to further the development and expansion of life sciences education in post-secondary institutions to effectively prepare students for high-demand career opportunities in the life sciences industries.

The Workforce Development Grant program is part of $30.5 million released this year by the Healey-Driscoll administration to support life sciences education and innovation.

Second round of Glow Up! grants available Downtown Pittsfield Inc. and the Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corporation are co-facilitating a second round of The Pittsfield Glow Up! Business Improvement Grant Program.

The program provides grants of up to $10,000 to eligible businesses affected by COVID-19 within the American Rescue Plan Act’s disproportionately impacted district of Pittsfield. The grant funds are to be used for physical improvements that will enhance the experience of foot traffic and create a visual vibrancy in the district.

Eligible applicants must be for-profit businesses that have been in operation since January 2021,and must be in good

Pittsfield: YMCA names Bianchi interim executive director Berkshire Business Journal PITTSFIELD — Christian Bianchi has been appointed interim CEO and executive director of the Berkshire Family YMCA, the organization has announced. He will assume his new duties Dec. 11.

Currently the director of development at The Brien Center and a YMCA board member, Bianchi replaces Jessica Rumlow, who is leaving at the end of this year to become chief operations officer for the Alliance of Massachusetts YMCAs. The beginning of Bianchi’s term will overlap with the end of Rumlow’s to ensure a seamless transition. This collaboration is intended to maintain the continuity of leadership and the strategic direction of the Berkshire Family YMCA, the organization said.

“We are thrilled to welcome Christian Bianchi as our new interim CEO and executive director,” said Adam Klepetar, board chair of the Berkshire Family YMCA, in a news release.

“His passion for community work and proven leadership expertise makes him the ideal person to lead our organization into its next chapter.”

Bianchi became a Berkshire Family YMCA board member in the fall of 2022. The father of four children has been an influential figure in youth development, having also coached basketball and flag football at the YMCA. He is an active member of the Pittsfield Little League board and the Rotary Club of Pittsfield.

The Berkshire Family YMCA has three branches: North Adams, Pittsfield and Bennington, Vt.

Berkshire Medical Center has received a $24,838 planning grant from the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development to solidify the pipeline for licensed practical nurses and associate degree registered nurses in Berkshire County.

BMC will use the funding to meet and create a dialogue with Berkshire Community College and McCann Technical School to identify current roadblocks and bottlenecks and develop creative solutions to those problems and to construct a reliable approach the shortage of nurses.

It is one of 13 initiatives that received more than $355,000 in Scaling Capacity and Leveraging Employers (SCALE) planning grants to support economic recovery, growth objectives, and workforce strategies across the state, with a focus on aligning public and private resources to create education-to-employment pathways.

A free monthly publication by The Berkshire Eagle 75 South Church Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201 Visit berkshirebusinessjournal.com for advertising information and to subscribe.

NEWS DEPARTMENT TONY DOBROWOLSKI, Editor 413-496-6224 tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com

ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT KATE TEUTSCH, Director of Ad Services 413-496-6324 kteutsch@berkshireeagle.com CHERYL GAJEWSKI, Director of Ad Sales 413-841-6789, 413-496-6330 cmcclusky@berkshireeagle.com Share your news with the Berkshire Business Journal. If you have a company promotion, a new business or a new venture, let the Berkshires know about it. Remember the 5 W’s and that briefer is better. Email text and photos to BBJ@newenglandnewspapers.com.

Provide your expertise in the Berkshire Business Journal. Do you have the answer to a persistent question about business and the Berkshires? Do you have ideas and suggestions on how our business community can grow?

If you have a comment to make about doing business in the Berkshires or if you’re looking to raise an issue with the business community, this is the venue for that. We welcome letters up to 300 words and commentary up to 600 words. Send these to Tony Dobrowolski at tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com.

Berkshire Business Journal is published monthly by New England Newspapers Inc., 75 S. Church St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Periodicals postage paid at Pittsfield, MA 01201.

Berkshire Business Journal is delivered free to businesses in Berkshire County via third class mail. Additional distribution is made via dropoff at select area newsstands. The publisher reserves the right to edit, reject or cancel any advertisement at any time. Only publication of an advertisement shall constitute final acceptance of an advertiser’s order. All contents are copyrighted by New England Newspapers Inc.

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Berkshire Business Journal

December 2023

Berkshire voices

Teamwork allows the BIC to expand its brand

BERKSHIRE INNOVATION CENTER

Several dignitaries including, front row from left, Berkshire Innovation Center Director Ben Sosne; Mass MoCA Director Kristy Edmonds; state Rep. John Barrett III; and BIC board Chair Steven Boyd, attended the opening ceremony for BIC Works Mass MoCA in North Adams.

PITTSFIELD — Growing and exlook for “return on collisions.” panding the Berkshire Innova- Our motto — “Do More Togethtion Center’s presence and mis- er” — is all over our website, sion is something that is always marketing materials, and, of worthwhile. course, the freshly installed In late October, I had the signs outside our new home on privilege of joining friends and Mass MoCA’s campus. partners in the main courtThis fidelity to collaborayard of the Massachusetts tion and motivation to build a Museum of Contemporary community is at the very heart Art, on an unseasonably warm of our decision to expand into and sunny day, to cut Northern Berkshire and a ribbon marking the to plant our flag in the grand opening of BIC center of Mass MoCA. Works @ MoCA — the The BIC, which Berkshire Innovation serves as a catalyst to Center’s new North spark innovation and Adams site. sustainable growth of Stephen Boyd, the technology-focused comBIC’s co-founder and panies in our region, Ben Sosne board chair, opened the serves 30 plus industry ceremony by recalling members and another 30 advice he received early plus affiliate partners, on from key stakeholders at and collaborates with over 15 rethe Massachusetts Life Scigional educational institutions. ence Center, the BIC’s primary Our industry members alone investors. Those early partners employ nearly 8,000 people in noted that they had seen many the Berkshires. As some of the incubators and innovation region’s largest and highest centers come and go, but the paying employers, they drive ones that succeeded all shared our local economy, and their ena similar trait: they all focused gagement has made the BIC the first on building a community. hive of activity for the region’s It didn’t matter how big or fancy innovation economy. a building you built or how Despite the bustle of activity much advanced equipment you in Pittsfield, we’ve recognized packed into it, the organizations an opportunity to increase acthat experienced the most success to our network and expand cess were those that were able our community. Our facility to attract and engage a core set in Pittsfield is simply too far of partners and then grow that away for some county residents, core group such that the collecwhich often precludes us from tive wisdom of the stakeholders reaching as many students and continued to expand. young professionals as we could This nugget of wisdom was and should. This expansion into embedded into the BIC’s DNA northern Berkshire County from the get-go, and continues is the first step of a phased to drive every aspect of what growth plan, a plan specifically we do. Hang out at the BIC long designed to reach a broader and enough, and you will surely more diverse population. Access hear the phrase “collective wismatters and must be created. dom always wins”. It is a core Nobody should be left out betenant ingrained in our board, cause of geographic location. our staff, and our member comBIC Works @ MoCA is munity. When we examine our designed to be an experiential metrics, we count opportunities learning center that will help for “knowledge spillovers” and develop the talent pipeline

through K-12 STEM programming, promote collaborative learning opportunities and provide professional development opportunities. The new facility is a dynamic platform for the exploration of innovation through hands-on-learning.

Like everything we do, it will be a collaborative partnership with our member firms, our local and regional academic institutions, and our economic development partners across the Commonwealth. It will also leverage the energy of the MASS MoCA community by finding new learning experiences at the intersection of creativity and innovation.

Even the process of securing a new location and designing and fitting out the new space was a study of collaboration in action. With deep admiration for the community Mass MoCA had built and the vision its director, Kristy Edmonds, is infusing throughout the campus, we knew a BIC presence at MoCA would elevate the work of both organizations. For several months, however, we struggled to find a space on campus that was appropriate. That all changed when the whole BIC team traveled north for a tour.

As Team BIC gathered to look at a potential space on the third floor of Building One, and considered how we might renovate the space, we looked out the window and saw a pair of moving trucks parked right in the courtyard. A private art gallery with a storefront space in the middle of the campus had just given notice and was vacating. Learning that the space would be available, we jumped. We proposed a technology learning and experience center, and both the BIC board and the Mass MoCA management team were quick to support and enhance the vision.

State Sen. Paul Mark, D-Beck-

et, and state Rep. John Barrett III, D-North Adams, were at the table early and offered immediate and meaningful support.

The North Adams Partnership helped raise funds for renovations. Local developers David Moresi and David Carver donated labor and furniture.

MassDevelopment, a long-time supporter of the BIC, matched these contributions with a grant from its collaborative workspace program.

This collaborative undertaking, along with a touch of magic from the BIC’s own Shaun O’Neill allowed us to unveil at our ribbon cutting a dynamic platform for adventures in innovation through “Technology-on-Display” learning stations.

Initial stations include: “Robots as Teammates,” designed with researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that allows students to teach a robot a task and then watch as the robot shows what it has learned; “Agroll by Growgenics,” a display that allows students to test variable spectrum lighting for indoor vertical farming; and “Berkshire CubeSat Project,” driven by a Williams College sophomore, which envisions a hands-on experience where students can develop space missions from design, to launch and operations.

There’s also the BIC “Story Vault,” which invites guests into a re-imagined true vault for a Story Like You Mean It podcasting experience; and a floating 3D Printer Wall, which showcases the connection of additive manufacturing to the clean energy simulation experience offered through the BIC’s Manufacturing Academy.

Reflecting upon the energizing images of the more than 100 guests who gathered at the opening ceremony, I am con-

vinced of the power of people, how place matters and our capacity to do more together.

However, as I look at and learn about the technologies that are emerging, whether in national news, through our BIC member organizations or via our academic partners, I, who am not a futurist by career, would like to share a prediction.

Because the arts and innovation are both driven by creativity and because Mass MoCA visitors activate openness and exploration to experience art, BIC Works @ MoCA will not only benefit from this ethos and vibe, but the exploration and receptivity experienced by visitors will spill over and have a positive impact on our space.

Too frequently, we consider arts as humanistic and technology as anti-human. That’s not really the case in reality. Today, the integration of technology happens all the time to enhance the arts and there are, of course, still more ways technology can evolve to serve humanity.

But consider this: Although he’s most famous for his paintings like the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci was also known for his acumen in civil engineering, hydrodynamics, geology, geometry, mechanical engineering, physics and options. You see, we are, by design, exploring and creating souls, and this adventure in innovation at BIC Works @ MoCA is designed to be a catalyst for all visitors and community members to experience that “Innovation Happens Right Here, in the Berkshires.”

It starts with each person’s capacity to explore more, then create.

Ben Sosne is the Executive Director of the Berkshire Innovation Center in Pittsfield.

December 2023

Berkshire Business Journal

7

Berkshire voices

Berkshire real estate market continues to struggle PITTSFIELD — The strugdate. Listings are down gle to find housing in 4 percent but they’re the Berkshires has constill taking a quicker tinued into the fall. pathway to closing There were 2,710 real with only 91 days from estate transactions list to deed transfer. countywide as reportInventory continues ed by the Berkshire to decline. It’s down 8 Sanda J. County MLS from percent overall so far Carroll January through Octothis year. Only 1,511 Real estate ber this year. Overall, homes were on the the Berkshire MLS market throughout the reported $575 million in county year to date sales through the first through October.

10 months of the year which In multifamily sales, the includes residential, multitotal number of units with five family, land, commercial, and or less dwellings has tracked condominium sales. That’s an at 157 sales this year so far, a 11 percent decrease from 2022.

17 percent decline from the 190 The Berkshire County sales registered through the Board of Realtors, which first 10 months of 2022. The manages the Berkshire MLS, sold dollar volume of multionly tracks Realtor assisted family homes has dropped just transactions. Yet, the Berkslightly, from $40 million to $39 shire MLS is the most widely million countywide. The bigused data base for all property gest gains this year in the sales transactions in the county. of multifamily dwellings have Our housing struggles this taken place in South County, year are not unique. They where sales have jumped from mirror statewide and national $1.5 million to $3.2 million trends with a continued lack year-to-date, according to figof inventory, impacts from ures recorded at the Southern economic, and interest rate Berkshire Registry of Deeds in pressures, and an overall Great Barrington. leveling of sales after a few In Northern Berkshire, the extremely busy years during total dollar volume of multithe COVID-19 transition. family homes has risen from Taking a closer look at $11.5 million to $13 million this year’s figures, there so far, a 13 percent increase, were 931 sales of residential, according to the registry of single-family properties in deeds in Adams. The sale price the Berkshires as of October, of residential homes in that down from 1,117 sales at this area continues to rise with time last year, a decrease of 16 the current median price at percent. The dollar volume has $205,000, compared to $187,000 dropped from $511 million to for the same time last year. $434 million, also a 16 percent It takes longer for sales of muldecrease. tifamily homes to close than There has been a marginal single-family homes, but the increase — 2 percent — in the pathway to closing in the mulmedian sale price of sintifamily market has dropped to gle-family homes, with the me97 days this year from 116 days dian sales price as of October in 2022. Inventory in the multracking at $335,000 year-totifamily market again reflects

Association, home loan applications surged by 2.5 percent in just one week. Whether the recent decrease in mortgage rates will have a lasting impact on the market long term is uncertain.

STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN

A sign at a home on East Road in Lenox is marked as a sale pending, in this file photo. The struggles in the Berkshire real estate market have continued this fall matching national trends. the overall drop in listings.

Only 277 multifamily homes were on the market this year through October compared to 339 for the same time period in 2022, a drop of 18 percent.

Condominium sales are down 12 percent from 2022 with 123 units sold through October compared to 140 last year. Although the number of sales is lower this year, the total dollar volume is higher, with $55 million in 2023 versus $52 million last year. There’s also a significant rise in the median sale price which has gone from $294,500 last year to $346,500 this year, a jump of 17 percent.

Condos tend to sell like residential properties and sales are closing quicker in 2023 than they have in previous years. It has taken approximately 100 days from listing to selling a condo unit this year.

The inventory available for sale, however, has dropped 11 percent, as 173 units had come on the market through October

compared to 196 last year.

In pending sales, 105 residential properties were under agreement in the Berkshires in October compared to 116 last year. It’s interesting to note that our market stays fairly steady through the end of the year and then starts to retract a bit in the deep winter months of January and February, before the upward climb begins in the spring.

In October, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate surpassed 8 percent. However, at the beginning of November, potential homebuyers enjoyed a brief reprieve as the benchmark rate experienced its most significant weekly decline since 2022. Industry experts have noted that this decline has brought relief to the markets. A decline in mortgage rates, along with moderating inflation and a rise in wage growth, holds the potential to reshape the landscape.

According to a Nov. 8 survey by the Mortgage Bankers

A TIME FOR GIVING As we enter the holiday season, there have been nice reminders of the commitment Berkshire Realtors have to our community in the amount of volunteer fundraising and grants that have been generated for area nonprofits with the help of participating community members.

We recently presented our last check of the year to the Berkshire Community Action Council’s Children’s Winter Clothing Drive. This $7,000 donation from our Halloween Bowling fundraiser brings the total amount we’ve raised and donated to all organizations to $38,600 this year.

Last spring, our countywide Battle of the Bartenders events raised a total of $28,100.

We gave $8,200 to Louison House, $14,300 to the Elizabeth Freeman Center and $5,600 for Breaking Bread Kitchen in South County. We awarded $500 Berkshire Realtor Housing Fund grants for emergency housing to each of the Berkshire families who were displaced by destructive wildfires and a $500 donation to Berkshire Dream Center to assist the family of a hit and run fatality. We also secured $1,000 grants for Construct Inc. and Berkshire Bounty.

Sandra J. Carroll is the chief executive officer of the Berkshire County Board of Realtors and the Berkshire County Multiple Listing Service.

Don’t follow the trends; set them instead PITTSFIELD — In the

business world, staying ahead of the curve means embracing the digital wave, and right now, that wave is all about artificial intelligence.

Kaitlyn Pierce It’s a big shift from the old-school way of following hunches and what “feels right” to letting the hard facts guide us. As we cruise towards 2024, it’s pretty clear that AI is going to be a regular feature in our marketing toolkits, offering a kind of insight and automation that we could only dream about before.

Think of AI as the ultimate behindthe-scenes maestro in marketing. It sifts through heaps of data and somehow makes spot-on predictions about what customers will do next. This isn’t just cool tech— it’s our ticket to creating those wow moments for customers, making sure we’re sending the right message at just the right time. AI is all about making the tough parts of marketing a breeze, like figuring out who’s interested in what you’re selling and making snap decisions that keep your business on top.

The tricky part now is finding the right tools and learning how to integrate them into your existing systems.

As we peek into 2024, we’re seeing

RICARD DREW — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Text from the ChatGPT page of the OpenAI website is shown in New York in this file photo. Embracing the digital wave is the best way to stay ahead of the curve, and right now that wave is all about artificial intelligence. a lineup of AI tools ready to rock the marketing world. Content creation and SEO are getting a makeover from platforms like MarketMuse and

BrightEdge, which are all about using AI to get smarter with your content.

Then there are chatbots and virtual assistants; these are the 24/7 customer

service champs, always ready to help, thanks to their ability to understand and process human language. And let’s not overlook the strategy side of things.

Tools like Crayon and Adext use AI to keep an eye on the competition and make sure your ads are on point. With predictive analytics and customer data platforms, businesses can get a glimpse of what’s around the corner and tailor their strategies accordingly.

But to really nail AI in marketing, you’ve got to start with the right data.

It’s about collecting top-notch information and having a clear game plan for what you want AI to tackle. Choosing the right tools is key, whether you’re looking to ramp up engagement, spending your marketing dollars wisely, or digging out insights that lead to action.

And remember, it’s the blend of AI smarts with human creativity and strategy that makes the magic happen.

The AI marketing revolution isn’t just coming; it’s already here. As businesses gear up for 2024, those who get on board with AI are going to find themselves ahead of the pack, creating marketing that really resonates. Keeping up-to-date and making smart, ethical choices with AI means you won’t just be following the trends — you’ll be setting them.

Kaitlyn Pierce is the founder and chief strategist of PierceSocial, a digital marketing company.

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Berkshire Business Journal

December 2023

Berkshire voices

The fight for fairness in cannabis begins right here

By Meg Sanders

that the law is unconstitutional as applied to state-regulated LEE — The Berkshires have alcannabis businesses. With that ways been a place of innovation, declaration, state-regulated resilience, and community. My cannabis companies would no company recently and proudly longer be criminalized under filed a lawsuit against the U.S. federal law for simply doing Attorney General, Merrick Gar- business. The outcome of our land, seeking to confirm the lawsuit, if we succeed, will be to rights of Canna Provisions, and free cannabis businesses from other businesses, to culthe unequal treatment tivate and distribute and discriminatory cannabis in our comtaxes imposed by this munities without the refederal policy. straints imposed by an Despite cannabis illegitimate federal probeing legal in 38 states, hibition. including our own, the As the CEO of Canna Controlled Substances Meg Sanders Act continues to stifle Provisions, and a Cannabis longtime advocate for the growth and potenCorner this industry, I hope tial of legal cannabis that our lawsuit will businesses. This hinders bring permanent and positive our ability to serve our commuchange to all business operating nity by, for example, preventing under state regulated cannabis us from accessing traditional programs. For us, it is more banking services, obtaining than just a lawsuit; it’s a fight for small business loans, and genthe rights of small businesses erally operating with the same like ours, for the principles of freedom that economic engines state sovereignty, and for the and job creating industries like countless individuals who have the cannabis industry must be been unjustly penalized by an allowed to do. unconstitutional federal law.

But beyond the business We are seeking to ensure that implications, there’s a more prostate-regulated businesses like found issue to be considered and Canna Provisions can operate perpetually acknowledged until on an even playing field, free the matter has become resolved. from the shackles of federal And that is even as we discuss prohibition. the intricacies of commerce and State-regulated cannabis com- regulation, it’s essential to repanies are suffering because the member that there are still indifederal Controlled Substances viduals, today, being incarceratAct labels them criminals. Our ed for cannabis-related offenses, suit seeks a court declaration even in states where it’s legal.

This stark reality underscores the urgency of aligning federal law with the evolving landscape of cannabis legalization.

The lawsuit’s intention is clear: to confirm the rights of businesses and entrepreneurs to participate in the regulated cannabis programs that state voters and legislators have enacted; and to challenge the Controlled Substances Act’s ongoing interference with the participants in those programs.

It’s also about recognizing the changed realities since the 2005 Supreme Court decision in Gonzales v. Raich, in which a divided Court upheld the Controlled Substances Act. Today, state-regulated cannabis is not the same as illicit cannabis. It’s cultivated, processed, and distributed under stringent regulations aimed at protecting consumers, aiding communities that have been disproportionately harmed by cannabis prohibition, and other important goals.

I echo the sentiments of many in our community and industry: we want to be treated equally.

We want to operate our businesses and contribute positively to our communities, without the looming shadow of federal interference.

The Berkshires, and indeed the entire nation, deserve a fair and just cannabis industry.

It’s time for change, and we’re ready to lead the way.

Meg Sanders is the CEO and cofounder of Canna Provisions in Lee.

TERRY LEE TAYLOR VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Landscape fabric covers the ground at a legal cannabis farm near Brewster, in north-central Washington state, in this file photo. Canna Provisions of Lee recently filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Attorney General, Merrick Garland, seeking to confirm its rights, and those of other businesses, to cultivate and distribute cannabis in their communities without the restraints imposed by the federal Controlled Substances Act.

How tax policy stunts growth in Massachusetts LEE — Taxes are not the only factor in busi-

ness-location decisions, but they are an important part of the calculus that companies consider when they decide where to establish themselves and grow.

That’s why it is concerning that Massachusetts dropped from 34th to 46th in the 2024 State Tax Business Climate Index compiled by The Tax Foundation.

The ranking underscores the fact that the commonwealth still has work to do to make itself competitive for businesses and affordable for employees.

The index scores states across five sub-inPatricia dexes, each representing Begrowicz a major component of The View state tax codes: corpofrom AIM rate taxes, individual income taxes, sales and excise taxes, property and wealth taxes, and unemployment insurance taxes. Massachusetts ranked dead last on unemployment insurance taxes, 47th on property taxes, 44th on individual income taxes and 36th on corporate taxes for its overall rank of 46.

The 10 highest-ranked states for 2024 are Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, Florida, Montana, New Hampshire, Nevada, Utah, North Carolina and Indiana.

The bottom 10 are Rhode Island, Hawaii, Vermont, Minnesota, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, New York and New Jersey.

The Tax Foundation is a non-partisan study organization that collects data and publishes research studies on U.S. tax policies at both the federal and state levels.

The ratings slide partly reflects the corrosive impact on the state’s business reputation of the so-called “Millionaires’ Tax” passed by voters in 2022. The surtax on incomes of more than $1 million

AP FILE PHOTO

Massachusetts recently dropped from 34th to 46th in the 2024 State Tax Business Climate Index, which is compiled by The Tax Foundation. The ranking shows that the commonwealth still needs to work on making itself competitive for businesses and affordable for employees. (creating an effective rate of 9 percent) potentially harms some of the thousands of small and medium-sized Massachusetts businesses that pay individual income tax and form the backbone of the commonwealth’s economy.

The national rankings were compiled before the Massachusetts Legislature passed, and Governor Maura Healey signed, a tax-relief package that includes a reduction in the short-term capital gains rate and a doubling of the threshold for the estate tax. Those changes will hopefully help Massachusetts improve its ranking for 2025, but the 2024 results remind us that the business community and elected officials still have a way to go to ensure that Massachusetts maintains a business climate that persuades both companies and talented workers to remain in the commonwealth.

A high tax burden is one of the factors driving many of those talented workers to leave Massachusetts for lower-cost areas of the country and exacerbating

the labor shortage here in the commonwealth. Massachusetts residents paid the largest share in the nation of their income in taxes this year — residents filing as individuals paid 24.07 percent of their income to the tax man, while couples filing jointly paid 23.47 percent. The national average is 19.68 percent.

It’s important to state that businesses understand the necessity of a well-structured tax code to fund the services upon which we all rely. Taxes pay for the roads that bring raw materials to our plants and finished products to markets around the world; for the police and fire services that protect property and lives; and for the education system that prepares residents to share in the economic success of our region.

The challenge is to efficiently meet the need for public services without choking off the economic growth that allows our neighbors to work, live and raise families. Tax policies affect economic decision-making on work, savings,

inter-state migration, investment, and business organization. Every state can benefit from a simple, neutral, transparent, pro-growth tax structure.

What are the next steps that Massachusetts should take to make itself more attractive to businesses and workers alike?

Associated Industries of Massachusetts, where I serve as board chair, has three modest proposals: • Create relief for small and family-owned business by reforming the so-called “Sting Tax.” Currently, subchapter S corporations paying personal taxes are assessed an additional 1.93 percent on net income of gross receipts between $6 million and $9 million and an additional 2.9 percent on net income if recipes are $9 million or more. This system deeply disadvantages certain Massachusetts companies.

• Boost competitiveness by decoupling the Massachusetts tax code from federal limits on interest-expense deductions.

Following passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, new rounds of corporate tax deduction limits were triggered Jan. 1, 2023. These limits weaken the incentive for companies to borrow and invest.

• Exempt rolling stock (trucks, trailers, railcars, most things involved in interstate commerce) in Massachusetts from the sales tax. This will counter a new state policy making rolling stock that enters Massachusetts for more than six days subject to the state’s full 6.25 percent use tax regardless of where the property was purchased.

Taxes aren’t everything, but Massachusetts cannot afford to be at the bottom of the heap when it comes to national rankings.

Patricia Begrowicz, the president of Onyx Specialty Papers in Lee, is chair of the board of directors of Associated Industries of Massachusetts.

December 2023

Berkshire Business Journal

9

Berkshire voices

A game changer for nonprofits

By Massachusetts Nonprofit Network BOSTON — The Massachusetts nonprofit sector is an important social and economic engine for the state.

With over 40,000 organizations in the Commonwealth registered as 501©(3) nonprofit organizations, the sector addresses a wide range of issues, from education and healthcare to social services and the environment. There are issues moving through the State House that have real impacts on the work nonprofits do every day.

As the state association for Massachusetts nonprofits, the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network is poised to advocate for policies that support the sector. A new policy taking effect after years of work is the state’s charitable contributions deduction. This policy went into effect at the beginning of this year, and is a game-changer for both nonprofits and individual donors.

All Massachusetts taxpayers can now deduct charitable contributions on their state tax returns, regardless of whether they itemize deduction on their federal returns. Individuals who have never itemized federally, many of whom are people with low to mid-level incomes, can now take advantage of this benefit.

The implementation of the State Charitable Tax Deduction has far-reaching implications for the sector. It will support and promote individual giving, which is a critical funding source for nonprofits. It also provides nonprofits with a new tool for fundraising appeals for donors. Visit the MNN website, massnonprofitnet.org, for more information about the charitable tax deduction.

Currently, MNN is advocating for the passing of H.1717, An Act Relative to Nonprofit Board Member Compensation. This bill would allow nonprofit board members to receive a stipend of up to $500 without losing personal civil liability protections provided by statute, in accordance with federal law.

It would also encourage board service by constituents and members of underrepresented groups.

Many community-based nonprofits seek to include constituents on their boards of directors. The benefits are multiple: greater representation, more constituent input into an organization’s work, and increased diversity. But for constituents who work multiple jobs to make ends meet, or would have to give up paid work time to serve, being on a board is very difficult. H.1717 would address those challenges and enable more constituents to serve on boards.

Workforce development is another pressing issue within the nonprofit sector.

To address this concern, MNN supports changes to state contracting laws and reimbursement rates for human service providers. Additionally, there is a need to overhaul the childcare system to make it more sustainable and responsive to the needs of both employees and the communities they serve. In an effort to gather more data and insights on the workforce dynamics in the nonprofit sector, MNN and other organizations sent a letter to Senator Edward Markey and Senator Elizabeth Warren, urging the inclusion of nonprofit workforce data in the Bureau of Labor and Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages report.

In July, MNN held its Berkshires Regional Meeting at Ventfort Hall in Lenox to connect with the local nonprofit community. The event provided an opportunity for local nonprofits to learn about important developments such as the state charitable contributions deduction. It also offered insights into the state of the sector, the legislative session, and ways to engage with elected representatives.

MNN’s annual conference, which took place this past fall, served as a platform for in-depth discussions on sector trends and challenges. The conference kicked

LIANA TOSCANINI

Jim Klocke, the CEO of the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, speaks at MNN’s Berkshire Regional meeting, which took place at Ventfort Hall in Lenox in July. off with a powerful keynote panel titled, “Promoting Inclusion and Combating Hate: What Nonprofits Can Do”. Key inclusion related issues that were addressed included: pay equity, protecting frontline workers, holistic care, and reaching out to people with perspectives and backgrounds different from one’s own.

The panel was moderated by Orlando Watkins, vice president and chief program officer at The Boston Foundation.

Panelists were Josh Kraft, president of the New England Patriots Foundation; Tanya Neslusan, executive director of MassEquality; Vanessa Otero, executive director of the Healing Racism Institute, and Tuyet Tran, executive director of the Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts. The featured speakers came from both nonprofit and philanthropic backgrounds across the state.

In summary, the Massachusetts nonprofit sector remains a critical part of the state’s industry. The work of the sector impacts every resident of the Commonwealth. MNN serves as the voice of the nonprofit sector, bringing together a diverse community of many missions on the issues that affect us all.

To stay updated on the latest developments within the nonprofit sector, individuals and organizations can become affiliate members of MNN. With over 500 nonprofit members representing every region of Massachusetts and more than 100 for-profit affiliate members, MNN offers a diverse network of individuals and businesses dedicated to supporting the sector. Membership benefits include discounted event tickets, exclusive policy updates, business promotions, sponsorship opportunities, and more.

Joining MNN is an excellent way to contribute to the nonprofit sector’s growth and resilience. For more information, go to massnonprofitnet.org, or email info@massnonprofitnet.org.

The Massachusetts Nonprofit Network is a statewide organization that brings together nonprofits, funders, community and business leaders, and elected officials to strengthen nonprofits and raise the sector’s voice on critical issues. It has more than 600 members across Massachusetts.

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Berkshire Business Journal

A lasting impression

December 2023

Haddad Auto Group has been around for 90 years, and fate and fortunate circumstances are a big reason why

By Tony Dobrowolski PITTSFIELD — What if the founder of Haddad Auto Group had continued selling groceries and never sold cars?

What if his son hadn’t taken a chance on selling what was then a not wellknown brand of Japanese motor vehicles 53 years ago?

Then what if his grandson had become a doctor like his father suggested and never joined this three-generation Berkshire family business?

If even one of those events had not taken place, Haddad Auto Group, one of the Berkshire’s biggest auto dealers, would not be marking its 90th anniversary this year.

“We wouldn’t be having this conversation,” said current President and CEO George L. Haddad, who followed his grandfather (George A. Haddad) and his father (Louis Haddad) into the family business.

Haddad Auto Group began as a used car lot in Pittsfield but it has grown to include four dealerships, three in Pittsfield and one in St. Albans, Vt., that feature three brands, Hyundai, Subaru and Toyota, along with a collision center in Pittsfield.

Haddad also operated a Nissan dealership in Pittsfield for seven years before selling it last November and ran another dealership in southern Vermont during the 1980s.

Expansion remains part of the overall game plan. Haddad has considered finding a larger parcel for its Subaru franchise in Pittsfield. “It’s a possibility,” George Haddad said.

“If you’re sitting still you’re going backwards.”

Although Haddad is marking its 90th anniversary this year, no one knows exactly how long the company has been in business. George Haddad told The Eagle two years ago that his grandfather started selling cars in the 1920s.

His grandfather opened a used car lot on West Street in Pittsfield in 1929, then opened a Pontiac dealership in 1936, according to his obituary, which was published in The Eagle in 1970. The company’s own website lists 1932 as Haddad’s starting date, which was 91 years ago.

“I get confused when he actually started everything,” said George Haddad, referring to his grandfather. “We say it’s 90. I could be off. To the best of my knowledge my grandfather started a used car lot prior to Pontiac.”

Either way, Haddad Auto Group has still earned props for its longevity. It’s not easy lasting in any business for almost a century.

“Personally, it means a lot,” Haddad said, referring to his company’s longevity.

“When you look at where we’ve come my grandfather started with a little used car lot. Coming over from Lebanon with an eighth-grade education working in grocery stores until he started selling cars.”

Company founder George A. Haddad, who died at age 67 in February 1970, was always an entrepreneur. Born in Lebanon, he grew up in North Adams. At age 14 he already owned and operated his

STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN

George L. Haddad, the president and CEO of Haddad Auto Group, which is marking its 90th anniversary, doesn’t live in the past, but the company’s history is always close by. Behind him are photos of his grandfather, company founder George A. Haddad, and his father, Louis Haddad, who also ran this three generation Berkshire family-owned business that started in Pittsfield. own grocery store, according to his obituary. When he was 16, Haddad sold that store and moved to Waterbury, Conn., about an hour south of the Berkshires, where he managed his uncle’s grocery store for five years.

Haddad returned to the Berkshires in 1922 and went into auto sales. He sold Fords for Pittsfield Auto Sales for three years before going to South Street Motors in 1925 where he sold Chevrolets.

Four years later he opened his own used car lot, Haddad Used Car Exchange, before taking on the Pontiac dealership in 1936 that was located in a building at 55 West St. that had originally been used as a livery stable. Haddad bought that building for $35,000 in 1940 then moved the dealership to Lenox in the late 1960s when the West Street structure became a victim of urban renewal.

“Somebody called him up on the phone and said, ‘Hey, George, the Pontiac dealership is available. Do you think you should buy it?’” his grandson said.

“With probably very little money at the time and whatnot he takes a chance, and he built a great business.”

A past president of the Western New England Pontiac Club, the elder George Haddad supplied new Pontiacs to Pittsfield High School’s driver-education program for many years.

“He built the business on having really good employees, being involved in the

community and taking care of customers,” his grandson said.

Louis Haddad, who died in 1977, joined his father as part-owner and vice president of what was then known as Haddad Motor Sales in 1950 (father and son also jointly ran a restaurant on West Street in the 1950s).

“My father worked with him,” the younger George Haddad said, referring to the auto business, “then he took it over.”

It was Louis Haddad who broadened the business in 1970 when he decided to add a Toyota franchise to the Pontiac dealership on the advice of a friend.

At that time, Toyota was not the high selling brand that it is today. In an interview with The Eagle in 2020, George Haddad said his father’s friend told him Toyota was then considered “an up-andcoming car.” Toyota is now one of the best selling cars in the Berkshires.

“He got a call from somebody who said, ‘Hey Lou, you should look at this Toyota franchise,’” George Haddad said.

“So he called Toyota. The guy came out and he said if you do a good job we’ll give it it to you.

“Imagine if we didn’t have Toyota and he said no,” George Haddad said. “There’s no more Pontiac. We wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

The younger George Haddad began working at the dealership as a pre-teenager. He actually sold a few cars there

at age 15.

“I rode in the back seat because I couldn’t drive, and I sold five cars in a week,” he once told The Eagle. “It was great. Maybe it was because people thought that I was this innocent little kid, I don’t know.”

Haddad didn’t officially join the dealership until 1984, three years after graduating from St. Michael’s University in Vermont after ending his flirtation with becoming a doctor. His father had asked his son to consider medicine as a career because “he wasn’t super profitable,” George said. But after struggling with organic chemistry in college, Haddad left being a doctor behind and joined the family business.

“The best thing that ever happened to me,” Haddad said.

The business has expanded greatly under the younger George Haddad’s leadership, but there have been struggles, too. Haddad said the dealership almost went under when General Electric began downsizing its Pittsfield operations in the mid-1980s.

“I don’t have any regrets about going into the car business, but like any other businessman I’ve done things I made mistakes at,” he said. “I tell people I almost went broke because I didn’t know any better. I thought I was a big shot. “ With his father running the company’s other dealership in southern Vermont in the 1980s, Haddad said he bought another Berkshire County dealership, constructed another building and didn’t put away any money because he spent everything he earned.

“I went to school, but I didn’t have anybody teaching me,” he said. “I’m going along like I’m not going to lose any money.

I’m making money and spending what I’m making. OK great. But when the economy turned and I started losing money I didn’t have the money to put back in.”

What saved the business, Haddad said, was the advice that he received from John Brown, a Toyota representative, who traveled to dealerships across the country helping them with their finances. Brown came to the Berkshires to visit Haddad.

“The guy walks in. He comes into my office and he says, ‘George, I’ve been looking at your financial statements,’” Haddad recalled. “He says, ‘I know the problem and I know the solution.’” I said, ‘Oh, good. OK, what is it?’

“He says walk with me into your bathroom. I said, ‘OK.’ He says, ‘What do you see in the mirror?’ I said, ‘I see me.’ He said, ‘I don’t.’ So I said, ‘what do you see?’

And he said, ‘I see the problem.’ He also says, ‘I also see the solution.’ He said, ‘if you’re willing to become the solution I’m willing to help you.’ I said, ‘OK.’” Based on Brown’s advice, Haddad said he cut expenses, pared back the company a little bit and straightened out its finances.

“The next month I started making money,” Haddad said. “Three months later the bank said, ‘George you’re all set, we’re not going to kick you out,’ and away I went.”

And he kept going. Some 90 years after it started, Haddad Auto Group is still here.

December 2023

Berkshire Business Journal

11

BIC opens campus at Mass MoCA

By Tony Dobrowolski NORTH ADAMS — The Berkshire Innovation

Center is open for business in the Northern Berkshires.

The Pittsfield-based innovation center officially opened its first satellite campus, BIC Works @Mass MoCA, with an on-site grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony that took place in late October at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Located in a former art gallery adjacent to Bright Ideas Brewing, BIC Works @Mass MoCA is designed to be an experiential learning center that will help develop the county’s talent pipeline through kindergarten through 12th grade STEM programming. The facility will also be used to promote collaborative learning opportunities, provide professional development, and serve as a platform for exploration of innovation through hands-on learning.

Meeting space is also available for the BIC’s more than 30 industry and 15 academic partners to use.

“BIC Works @MoCA will be a collaborative partnership with our member firms, our local and regional academic institutions, and our economic development partners across the Commonwealth,” said BIC Executive Director Ben Sosne in a news release. “It will also leverage the energy of the Mass MoCA community, not only giving the BIC a physical presence and ease-of-access to serve students and organizations in Northern Berkshire County, but concurrently open an opportunity to create new learning experiences at the intersection of creativity and innovation.”

The $13.8 million, 23,000-square-foot Berkshire Innovation Center, located in the William Stanley Business Park, opened in February 2020. It has attracted the interest of a number of groups

The entrance to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams. The Berkshire Innovation Center opened BIC Works @Mass MoCA, its first location outside of Pittsfield, at the museum in late October.

GILLIAN JONES-HECK

Paul Mark speaks as the Berkshire Innovation Center officially opens its first satellite campus, BIC Works @Mass MoCA. The facility opened in late October with an onsite grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. and projects and the amount of activity has begun to tax the limits of its location in Pittsfield.

According to BIC officials, spaces are often occupied or reserved. Although it is centrally located in the Berkshires, Pittsfield is too far away for people who live in the county’s outer regions, especially students and young professionals that have issues with transportation.

The expansion into the Northern Berkshires represents the first step of a phased growth plan by the BIC that is designed to make the impact the innovation center makes across the region more equitable.

“This collaborative partnership will

help educate students and young people about exciting innovations in STEM while inspiring a new generation of workers to enter the field,” said Massachusetts Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao, who attended Friday’s ceremony.

“We’re grateful to the BIC and Mass MoCA for their long-standing partnership on Team Massachusetts and look forward to seeing the workforce and economic development opportunities that this dynamic collaboration will help make possible,” she said.

Hao and Sosne were joined at the ceremony by members of the BIC’s board, staffers from Mass MoCA, state

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“We are thrilled to open access to our technology and learning platforms and expand our community with Mass MoCA,” said BIC board Chairman Stephen Boyd, the CEO of Boyd Biomedical in Lee. “Our goal is to reach a broader and more diverse population. By linking talent with technology, innovation and creative processes, we can address a pipeline of opportunities and solve big world problems by starting locally. Collective wisdom always wins.”

“In the creative world, we work with technologies and different ideas and try to amplify one another’s knowledge because we have adjacencies,” said Mass MoCA Director Kristy Edmunds. “Welcoming the Berkshire Innovation Center to the Mass MoCA campus is an adjacency that artists will crave, our community will crave, and engages with the work we are doing with teens and young people.”

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Berkshire Business Journal

December 2023

A mile away, a world apart

Late philanthropists’ homes, both for sale on same street, show a contrast in styles

By Jane Kaufman STOCKBRIDGE — Two homes on

one of this town’s most prominent roads are for sale after the philanthropists who owned them died, leaving behind two very different properties.

The late Lola and Edwin Jaffe’s mid-century modern home at 23 Prospect Hill Road on 57 acres is for sale with a listing price of $4.899 million. It’s been on the market for less than 100 days.

The late Assadour Tavitian’s home, which bears a striking resemblance to cottages from the Gilded Age, is now listed at $9.95 million. It’s been on the market for close to 300 days. The original listing price was $12.5 million.

The price drop was made within the last 45 days.

It’s a tale of two houses on one of the most scenic roads in Stockbridge and among the most expensive on the Berkshire market right now. If the Tavitian estate fetches its asking price of $9.95 million, it would appear to be the highest price paid for a residential home in Berkshire County, a position held by the $9.3 million sale of a home on Canaan Southfield Road in New Marlborough in November. The historic Elm Court estate in Stockbridge, which is no longer a private residence, sold for $9.8 million in July 2012.

The Berkshire Eagle was recently given a tour of the Tavitian property and learned the history behind the former owners’ who once called Stockbridge home.

A HOME WITH A ‘RICH LEGACY OF CULTURE’ The Jaffes’ son, Bob Jaffe, explained how the couple came to build in Stockbridge in a video showcasing the property. His eldest brother, Walter Jaffe, was placed in an apprenticeship at the former Berkshire Theatre Festival in 1966.

“My parents brought him up here and got him settled and immediately fell in love with the area,” Bob Jaffe said in the video.

“It wasn’t long before they started looking for property. I remember coming up here and seeing nothing except a big open field and a well in the middle of it.”

He said they decided to site the house deep into the property “because they loved being surrounded by the nature that was around them and the mountains.”

The house was built in 1968,

JANE KAUFMAN

The view of 7 Prospect Hill from the side or back shows much of the height of the home. with Bob Jaffe becoming the first summer-long tenant after he, too, won an apprenticeship at the Berkshire Theatre Festival.

Lola and Edwin Jaffe spent mostly weekends at the Stockbridge house.

Still, “My mother had a tendency to spend the whole summer up here,” Bob Jaffe said, and after Edwin Jaffe sold the family business, J&J Corrugated Box Corp. in 1986, “They just became more and more attached to this area,” moving in full-time in the late 1980s.

The two took active roles in the community, with Edwin Jaffe as founding chair of Berkshire South Regional Community Center and Lola Jaffe founding the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, both in Great Barrington.

“This house has a long, rich legacy of culture,” Bob Jaffe said.

“Any number of people that have been entertained here that were musicians at Tanglewood, conductors at Tanglewood, actors at the Berkshire Theater Festival, or performers at the Mahaiwe, they’ve all enjoyed this house and been here and loved the serenity of it.”

Edwin Jaffe died in 2007; Lola Jaffe died in 2021. The house now belongs to the Lola E. Jaffe Revocable Trust.

Nancy Cole, senior vice president of Compass LLC, is the listing agent for Jaffe’s home, which

sits a quarter mile off the road.

“Prospect Hill is such a special road in Stockbridge. I feel that some of the most beautiful properties in Stockbridge with views are up on that road,” Cole said.

“For anyone who really enjoys culture, recreation and beautiful, beautiful scenery, this property has all of that.”

She mentioned the patio, two swimming pools, tennis court and a playground created by a designer who designed playgrounds in New York City. The property has rare specimen trees, as well.

The Jaffe home has 16 rooms in 8,200 square feet. It has seven bedrooms, including a first-floor master bedroom, five full bathrooms and two half-baths.

With floor-to-ceiling windows in some of the spaces, there is plenty of light, said Cole, yet never a “baked-in feeling.”

She said the house, designed by architect John Rogers, is cozy in the winter. With multiple sliding glass doors, there is cross ventilation with little need to turn on the air conditioning in summer.

“We have had good amount of interest,” Cole said, adding that’s come from New York City, Boston and the Hudson Valley. “It just has everything you could ever imagine.”

‘A GORGEOUS PROPERTY’ The Tavitian property of ap-

proximately 6.2 acres includes a guest house adjacent to Naumkeag, owned by the Trustees of Reservations. The sale won’t include the home on the other side of the property formerly owned by Jane and Jack Fitzpatrick, who owned The Red Lion Inn. Tavitian purchased that as the headquarters of the Tavitian Foundation.

Born in Armenia, Aso Tavitian, as he was known, was the co-founder of SyncSort, one of the first software development companies to emerge after IBM unbounded its software. He served on the boards of the former Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge, the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge and the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown.

In 1995, he established the Tavitian Foundation, with goals of strengthening the governance of the Republic of Armenia; supporting educational opportunities for people of Armenian ethnicity; supporting research on issues of significance for a globalized world; and supporting the arts.

The sale of Tavitian’s home will benefit the foundation and charities that he supported, said Patrice Melluzzo, broker associate at William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty.

The main house embraces the side of a hill. It has 18 rooms, five

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bedrooms, six full bathrooms and three half-bathrooms. It has nine fireplaces, two staircases and an elevator. There is an outdoor pool, an indoor gym, multiple kitchens and a wine cellar.

Melluzzo invited The Eagle to tour the property, which was designed by Swanke Hayden Connell Architects and Peter Pennoyer Architects and was built over four years in the 1990s. It was technically not a tear-down, as one wall of the previous house was left standing.

Much of the house’s mass is hidden from the front entrance, with a relatively modest approach of a few steps.

On walking in, a visitor is drawn to look out to Monument Mountain through a two-story set of windows with a classical arch. There is parquet floor under foot and a fireplace in that entrance hall.

There are multiple studies and libraries, including one devoted to music, a second devoted to art and media, and a small circular room on the ground level known as the Zodiac room, with floor inlaid with the signs of the Zodiac.

The main kitchen has a breakfast room with views of Monument Mountain. There are French doors from that room and from the dining room leading out to the central stone terrace.

On the third floor, there is a suite with a kitchenette along with rounded dormer windows.

The master bedroom on the second floor has a his-and-hers dressing room beside it with a built-in vanity on her side.

Each guest bedroom has its own bathroom.

Fireplaces have carved woodwork surrounding the mantles and there is extensive tile work in the main kitchen and butlers’ pantries. A circular back staircase leads from the top-most floor down to the ground level.

While the house was substantially built in the 1990s, the detail in the crown molding and craftsmanship of the woodwork calls to mind the grand homes of a much earlier era.

Of the rooms, “They’re architecturally designed to be a perfect space and not overwhelming,” Melluzzo said. “It’s truly an honor to represent such a gorgeous property.”

December 2023

Berkshire Business Journal

13

Looking to change the food truck market Charlie’s Bistro Bus gets inspiration from around the globe

Charlie’s Bistro Bus What: Food truck and catering Where: 114 Housatonic St., Lee, behind Burmese Bowl

For takout: Call 413-429-7916

By Jane K aufman

Soft opening: Sunday, Oct. 29, 4 to

LEE — Tucked behind Burmese Bowl,

there’s a shiny black trailer outfitted with a custom kitchen and staffed by two entrepreneurs who can’t wait to offer elevated fare in the open air.

Timed to launch with the harvest moon, Charlie’s Bistro Bus is opening at 114 Housatonic St. with a menu that might be more typically found in, well, a bistro than a food truck.

And that’s the whole point, according to owners Anand Singh and Kevin Orozco.

The two met in the kitchen of 51 Park in Lee, where Singh hired Orozco to work.

Since then, Singh was tapped to become executive chef at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, where he lured Orozco to join him as lunch lead.

It was Orozco who first proposed the two venture into business together several months ago. When he mentioned it, he learned that Singh had the same idea.

Since then, the two have taken out loans to purchase a beastly Toyota Tundra with a generator in the flatbed and a trailer outfitted to their specifications by a Miami company — an investment of $120,000.

Now, with financing from Greylock Federal Credit Union, they’re counting on customers to love their food and hire them for events that will launch their trailer into a thriving business — one order of masala 65 wings or truffle fries at a time.

Ask Orozco and Singh what their favorite menu items are on the short, but globally sweeping offerings on the list, and they’ve got different favorites, both harkening back to their roots abroad.

While Orozco was born in Kingston, N.Y., his family is Colombian, so he picks arepas, a Colombian corn patty stuffed with queso de Oaxaca, and a choice of chicken, pork, beef or tofu.

Singh was born in India and learned to

8 p.m.

Regular hours: Monday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday through Sunday, 5 p.m. to midnight.

STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN

Kevin Orozco, left, and Anand Singh, right, stand with two-year-old springer spaniel Charlie, the namesake of the pair’s new food truck, Charlie’s Bistro Bus, that recently opened in Lee. cook traditional dishes there, despite his mother’s shooing him out of the kitchen.

She hoped he’d be a doctor.

His favorite is the Tikka Bowl, which is basmati rice, chicken or tofu, Tikka sauce and cilantro oil, topped with mint chutney and sweet and sour chutney. That and the Mexican Bowl can both be made spicy.

Those who belly up to the window can also try Brussels sprouts offered four ways, four styles of wings, three takes on

fries, Charlie’s Smash Burger or Southern Pulled Pork.

Orozco and Singh plan to locally source ingredients when possible.

And they designed the kitchen in their trailer to serve a maximum of 250 to 300 at a time in order to cater.

Orozco and Singh have easy smiles and an obvious rapport with one another. They decided to name their business after Charlie, who Singh calls the “true

owner,” and who happens to be highly motivated by food. Charlie is a friendly and happy-go-lucky black and white springer spaniel.

“We are the restaurant, but also, we’re not that egotistical in that sense,” Orozco said. “So we looked at the next person that we love the most.”

Charlie belongs to Singh’s girlfriend of two years. In fact, Charlie is just a little older than Singh’s relationship with his girlfriend, Saphire Senger, clocking in at 2 years and 4 months.

Singh basically taught himself to cook and pursued engineering at first, then studied culinary arts in India and in Germany on a six-month exchange.

He came to the United States as a kitchen trainee at the Red Lion Inn and has worked at restaurants in the Berkshires for seven years. He’s worked in kitchens for 10 of his 29 years.

Orozco, 22, has worked in kitchens since his years at Monument Mountain High School. While he started studying forensic analysis, he found that he gravitated toward cooking.

Both credit Min Khant, the owner of Burmese Bowl, for literally hooking them up with utilities vital to their operation.

Orozco said he really enjoys presentation. Singh enjoys blending flavors to create new dishes.

“We want to actually have like a higher class of a food truck and just change the market, especially being in the Berkshires,” Orozco said.

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Elegant older Greek Revival Victorian located just one block off of Main Street in Great Barrington. Has three units currently (all are vacant), was in use as a dental office and two rental apartments. Could be converted to a single family.

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14

Berkshire Business Journal

December 2023

Farmsteads FROM PAGE 1

own the farm long-term, but has acquired it and is holding it while the land trust raises the money to purchase it.

The transfer of property is scheduled to close on Feb. 15.

Meanwhile, the owners of Off the Shelf Farm in New Marlborough, Anna Houston and Rob Perazzo, have begun operating at River Run Farm under a lease with Iredale. Their lease will transfer to the land trust following the purchase.

Houston and Perazzo previously managed a mobile farm operation, raising chickens for eggs and meat and lambs on several land sites in the South County area.

“It really concerns me that this culture we had in the Berkshires, of so many farms, has now dwindled down to an alarming few,” Iredale said, “and I want to do everything I can to maintain the farming community and help the farming community.”

She said there is a farmer’s market next to her home in Great Barrington, and it has become “not just a place to buy great food, but it is also becoming a community meeting place. I see people of all ages and they are enjoying each other’s company, supporting the farmers, and it makes me feel very good to see that.”

When the River Run Farm land became available, Iredale said she didn’t want to see it be developed for another purpose, so she stepped in to buy the property.

GOAL IN SIGHT Downie said in early November that the fund drive needed to raise “essentially $550,000 more by Feb. 15” when the closing is scheduled to take place.

“We are well on our way,” she said, “but we have a lot of work to do.”

As an example, Carlson cited the campaign’s figures as of late October: More than $110,000 was raised from at least 80 donors, she said; $300,000 was approved

BETH CARLSON

Jane Iredale speaks at an event in May held to signify the formal launch of the Farmsteads for Farmer’s campaign at River Run Farm. Iredale, the founder and former CEO of Iredale Mineral Cosmetics, acquired the Great Barrington farmstead recently and is holding it until the Berkshire Community Land Trust can raise enough money through its Farmsteads for Farmers campaign to purchase it. The transfer of property is scheduled to take place on Feb. 15.

by Great Barrington voters through the town’s community preservation program; and $200,000 is coming from the purchase of buildings on the property that are being financed by the owners of Off the Shelf Farm who will hold the first long-term lease on the property through the land trust.

Iredale is also expected to forgive up to $400,000 of the mortgage for the purchase as a donation. A $100,000 award from a foundation is also anticipated by next year.

“So we are actually two-thirds of the way through,” Carlson said.

Organizers of the Farmsteads for Farmers effort had Comstock in mind as a possible leasee for the River Run Farm once it was purchased, but she said in November that she is considering a farming opportunity elsewhere.

Comstock said the loss of her lease for Colfax Farm when the Alford farm property was sold became “a public experience that really did raise a lot of

awareness in our community, which I am really thrilled about.”

She said “the lesson behind River Run is it just needs to keep going. We definitely need to have members of our community to step forward and donate money and land in order to support farmers. Living off a farm income, it is impossible to afford the land.”

FIRST FARMERS Houston and Perazzo, who created Off the Shelf Farm in 2018, had been operating a mobile farming system on several leased parcels, moving chickens on a regular basis in Quonset hut-style chicken coops on trailers.

Their experiences — like Comstock’s — serve to illustrate the steep barriers farmers face in obtaining and holding land in the Berkshires.

“We have been [at River Run Farm] all season this year, and it’s been amazing,” Houston said of finally having a single, spacious site for their business.

“We’ve been in business for six or seven years now,” she said, “and prior to this — we just had a baby — we were wondering what the future looks like.

“Because we’ve been trying to get this business off the ground, and especially with the pandemic and real estate prices, it could feel kind of hopeless,” she added. “Is there any stability coming our way? Will we ever be able to have stability in land and have a home base for our farm?”

But that insecurity is fading, she said.

“One of the main things we have not been able to do is invest in capital infrastructure. With animals, you really do need some equipment, and we haven’t been able to apply for grants and make those investments because we didn’t have a home base to put anything.”

Immediately after learning of the pending long-term lease, “we applied and got a half million dollar grant,” she said, “and the impact is so immediate and makes it so clear how important these types of [land trust] projects are ... Without land and land security, there is no future.”

The grant will fund a large barn with space for eggs, egg washing equipment, packing materials, and cold and dry storage areas, she said.

Houston said the barn will have a section for the chickens in the winter and another for year-round washing and packing of eggs.

In July, the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Food Security Infrastructure Grant Program approved a $497,519 grant to Off the Shelf Farm.

The funds were part of the federal pandemic relief funding, channeled through the state.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT “The support of the community and the land trust has totally changed our business and changed our mindset,” Houston said. “It is pretty amazing, and we are really lucky.”

The South County community “is so FARMSTEADS, Page 15

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Farmsteads FROM PAGE 14

special and so supportive,” she said, which is not the case in other areas that they have considered putting down roots.

“People here just get it and they really show up for farmers and that is very special.”

Houston said they also hope to open River Run Farm to visitors.

“One of my hopes is this will allow us to open the farm to visitors and have people be able to come and actually see first hand what it is that we do and how we can impact the land and the pasture,” she said.

“The farmers at Off the Shelf Farm have what appears a pretty successful operation, with fairly substantial production,” Downie said, but their mobile format with scattered parcels under short-term leases required significant travel time.

The expected land management plan for the 79-acre River Run Farm includes utilizing 12 acres for the residence, barns and other structures; 32 acres as pastures for chickens and lambs, and 35 acres of forestland, wetlands, Housatonic River frontage and scenic vistas.

INDIAN LINE FARM The first local farm preserved under such a lease agreement with the land trust was Indian Line Farm in Great Barrington. That rescue also involved farming advocates, conservationists and others scrambling because of a recent event.

The farm’s founder, Robyn Van En — who started North America’s first Community Supported Agriculture operation there in the mid-1980s — had died unexpectedly of an asthma attack at the age 49 in January 1997, so Indian Line Farm was at risk of sale for development.

Susan Witt, the executive director of the Schumacher Center for a New Economics in Great Barrington, with FARMSTEADS, Page 16

BETH CARLSON

The chicken coop at River Run Farm. Philanthropist Jane Iredale has acquired the farm and is holding it while the Berkshire Community Land Trust raises the money to purchase it.

16

Berkshire Business Journal

Farmsteads FROM PAGE 15

which the land trust is affiliated, was heavily involved in developing the ownership/lease format that saved the Indian Line Farm property from being sold for another purpose.

Witt had written an essay in 1990 encouraging collaboration between community land trusts and conservation land trusts. After Van En’s death, Witt was approached by Frank Lowenstein of the Nature Conservancy about working to preserve Indian Line Farm.

The Berkshire Community Land Trust was set up to hold and oversee property in common, Witt said, but she told Lowenstein the organization lacked the money to purchase the farm.

Lowenstein told her the Nature Conservancy did have money but was established only to conserve land not lease it to a farming operation. So the two organizations decided to cooperate.

Witt and her late partner, Bob Swann, who had helped form an early community trust to benefit Black farmers in Georgia in the 1960s — and has been referred to as the “father of the community land trust movement” — founded the Schumacher Center and the Community Land Trust in the Southern Berkshires in the early 1980s.

The Schumacher Center is a research and educational organization, named for the late British-German economist and statistician Ernst Friedrich (E.F) Schumacher, who is known for his theories on human-scale, decentralized

technologies, many of them outlined in his book, “Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered.” The center advocates for community land trusts and maintains a directory of CLTs around the country. The Schumacher Center also supports BerkShares, the county’s local currency. Van En’s picture is on BerkShares’ $10 note.

During the 1980s, the land trust had established Alvastra, which created housing and office space for nonprofits in Egremont, and Forest Row for 18 households in Great Barrington. That experience gave the land trust the ability to work with the Nature Conservancy to purchase Indian Line Farm.

In 2015, the CLTSB helped form a sister organization, the Berkshire Community Land Trust, to expand its capacities to hold multiple kinds of land.

The farmers at Indian Line Farm, Elizabeth Keen and Alex Thorp, had stepped in to operate the farm prior to the purchase by the trust. They still operate it.

“It was an amazing collaboration,” Witt said.

HOPING FOR MORE “River Run we are hoping is not the last farm under the Farmsteads for Farmers program,” Witt said. “There are other young, very capable farmers in the Berkshires who need affordable access to land.”

Local farmers, “can finance their homes, their barns and their equipment,” she said, but struggle to “finance land debt in this hot market. It just makes it impossible.”

Those interested in promoting food security in the region

December 2023

can become involved through the land trust’s efforts to acquire and lease farmland, she said, or they “might be inspired to actually donate land.”

Witt noted that there is a “second, third and fourth home market in the Berkshires, and not all of those properties will be desired by the heirs. Sometimes the property is put up for sale to the highest bidder and the money is put into a family foundation. We’re suggesting placing it into a community land trust where the land can remain active might be a better use, and might meet the objectives of the family foundation.”

TRUST FORMAT Community land trusts also follow a member-led, more democratic structure than some other types of trusts, Witt said.

Membership in Berkshire Community Land Trust is open to all residents of the county who pay a $10 per year membership fee. Lease-holding members, those who lease a site with the trust, elect one third of the land trust’s board.

“This ensures users of the land have a say, but not a majority say,” Witt said.

Non-leasing members elect another third of the board.

“This keeps the organization dynamic, seeking new properties, rather than just turning inward”,” Witt said.

Finally, these board members appoint the final third of the board from people in the professional community. Witt said this process allows members to bring needed skills to the board like legal, financial and architectural expertise, land use planning and building construction.

“This structure then means

BETH CARLSON

The Farmsteads for Farmers fundraising campaign, which was established to purchase farmland in Great Barrington to lease to local farmers, is based on an innovative ownership and lease formula, that was developed in the late 1990s to preserve another Berkshire farm. Renewed recently by the Berkshire Community Land Trust, the program’s long-range goal is that the purchase and lease process will be replicated elsewhere in the Berkshires. that changing community needs for land use are heard and incorporated into the work of the organization,” Witt said.

Tax-deductible donations for this initiative can be send to Farmsteads for Farmers, Berkshire Community Land Trust,

P. O. Box 276, Great Barrington, MA 01230.

Those who wish to privately discuss making a contribution to Farmsteads for Farmers can contact Beth Carlson at farms@berkshirecommunitylandtrust.org.

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A fresh start for 200-year-old Knox Trail Inn

By Jane K aufman OTIS — While she ate at the Knox Trail Inn as a child,

it wasn’t until this year that Brooke Tame considered buying it.

Now, at 25, Tame is the owner of the approximately 200-year-old inn. Included as part of the $815,000 sale on Oct. 31 was Jake, the inn’s resident ghost, who is thought to have been a Revolutionary War soldier and is known for opening and closing doors and cabinets. Among his favorites are the wooden ones in Tame’s office behind the inn’s kitchen.

In anticipation of the sale, Tame worked at the inn as general manager since July. So she has already gotten a feel for the inn’s rhythms and pace, as well as its ghost.

The seller was KTI Realty, LLC. The buyer was Knox Trail Inn Associates, LLC, of which both Tame and her father, Michael Tame, are listed as signatories. Knox Trail Inn Associates also took out a $600,000 mortgage from Westfield Bank, signed by Michael Tame.

“I’m just the maintenance guy,” Michael Tame said of the arrangement, adding that his daughter is responsible for the financing. “That’s only for insurance reasons.”

On Monday, a day the restaurant is typically closed, Michael Tame was painting and spackling the restrooms.

He does maintenance at Otis Ridge, as well.

“This is going to be another full-time job here,” he said.

He credited Brooke, his middle daughter, with doing the homework and the heavy lifting, describing her as a workaholic. Having run his own heavy equipment rental company, which he started at the age of 23, Michael Tame said his daughter comes from three generations of entrepreneurs.

Brooke Tame grew up on Long Island and spent summer and winter vacations at her family’s cabin in Blandford. Locals may remember her as a ski instructor at Otis Ridge, where she also worked at the summer camp and later at Grouse House, at the bottom of the slopes.

As a teenager, she decided on the restaurant business.

“There’s always something different,” she said of her attraction to hospitality. “You don’t have the same thing

JANE KAUFMAN

Brooke Tame is the new owner of the Knox Trail Inn. She worked as general manager prior to buying the inn. day to day and you get to meet some cool people.”

After majoring in restaurant food/beverage management with a minor in sommelier at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., she worked at a sports bar and then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, got a job opening a Long Island restaurant.

“So I actually opened that restaurant as a bartender, I ended up as the assistant manager,” she said. “And I basically was running the restaurant. I did everything: I bartended, served, I was in the kitchen managing. So I ran that restaurant for three years, a very busy place.

And then it was time for it to be my own. I was doing about 60 to 70 hours a week there so might as well reap the benefits myself.”

When word got out that she was considering buying The Rapids Bar & Grill in Huntington in Hampshire

County, the owners of the Knox Trail Inn approached her father.

The five friends who previously owned the inn bought it March 2017 with plans to transform it. They converted a dark formal dining room into the Birch Room, removing a fireplace and bar. That room has seating for 84.

The Pine Room, which seats 156, still contains pine shiplap paneling on the walls and oak floors. There’s also a stage, where bands perform.

In both dining rooms, the past looks out to the present, with photos of the inn in prior guises.

The inn has cornhole games and a pitch league on Wednesday nights, trivia on Thursday nights, and bands on Saturdays. There’s a horseshoe league during the summer as well.

Tame said she hopes to hold more weekly events and to open seating outdoors in the summer at picnic tables.

Without a head chef at the moment, “I let everybody kind of throw in their ideas and use their creativity,” she said. “Our specials have been phenomenal.”

The inn offers prime rib Thursday through Saturday, which will continue.

With about 20 on staff now, Tame is looking for people to fill out the kitchen crew. She will need even more staff in the summer, 30 to 40 people, when Otis expands with summer residents.

To that end, she hopes to update four second-floor bedrooms as housing for summer staff, whom she hopes to hire from abroad or as interns, perhaps from her own alma mater.

“I’ve always loved the area growing up,” she said of the Berkshires. “And I love how it’s a community place and everything’s about the people who come in, and it’s warm.”

She said she wants to build on the intimacy of the inn.

“I just hope everybody loves coming here,” she said.

“And that it’s a safe space, a fun place to hang out where everyone can just let go, and the rest of the world doesn’t matter while they’re here.”

Jane Kaufman is Community Voices Editor at The Berkshire Eagle. She can be reached at jkaufman@berkshireeagle.com or 413-496-6125.

‘Twenty years is a good milestone’ On A Roll Cafe & Catering owner credits hard work, persistence

By Clarence Fanto LENOX — David Barile arrives at On A Roll Cafe And Catering in Lenox Commons between 4 and 5 a.m. six days a week to bake bread and prepare sausage patties, corned beef hash and salad dressings.

“Anything we can make in house, we do it here from scratch,” said Barile, a Pittsfield native. He first opened his restaurant in Pittsfield at a tiny space in 2003 before moving it to a larger spot on North Street and eventually ending up in Lenox in 2017.

Barile migrates to the front of the house after the 8 a.m. opening, and doesn’t leave until 3 or 4 p.m. It’s hard work, but work he’s been able to do longer than most in his business.

“Twenty years is a good milestone,” Barile, 52, acknowledged during an early Monday morning conversation at the popular breakfast and lunch spot.

In the high-risk restaurant business, surviving and thriving for 20 years is a rare accomplishment. The National Restaurant Association estimates that only two out of five new eateries make it past year one, and only one out of five remains in business at the five-year mark.

The secret sauce of success?

“Education is a big part of it, but an even bigger part is just to persevere,” he said. “What it takes to really have a full-time career in this industry is a lot of hard work, whether you’re an owner or you’re learning, moving your way up. It’s always a lot of hours, you have to be committed to it and that’s what will get you through.

“It’s the complete opposite of

the Monday to Friday 9 to 5 office job, a totally different lifestyle. It is a lot of pressure, but there’s also a lot of pride, being responsible for it. But I enjoy it, I love it, looking forward to another 20 years.”

Having graduated from Wahconah Regional High School after his family moved to Dalton when he was 13, Barile earned an associate’s degree from Berkshire Community College’s culinary program. He went on to gain a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I. After working at the Copley Marriott and the Four Seasons hotels in Boston, he returned to the Berkshires for a job at Pittsfield’s Crowne Plaza. He moved up to sous-chef at Cafe Lucia in Lenox and finally at The Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge.

Barile seized the opportunity to open his first venture at a 13seat breakfast and lunch spot on North Street in Pittsfield (now Panchos Mexican Restaurant) — “a relatively inexpensive and easy way to give the restaurant business a shot.”

In December 2004, he relocated to the 75 North St. Central Block space that had been an annex for the Daily Bread Bakery.

When David Ward, then the owner of Lenox Commons, beckoned in 2016, Barile moved into the former site of the Love Dog Cafe, Jonathan’s Bistro, Kitchen on the Commons and the Lenox Cafe.

Although he had intended to keep the Pittsfield location, after 18 months he found the challenge of running two places was too great.

“It just made sense to consol-

On a Roll Snapshot . . .

Where: Lenox Commons, 55 Pittsfield Road (Routes 7 & 20), near Chocolate Springs

Open: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (until 1 p.m. on Sundays), closed on Tuesday. Also closed Oct. 28-Nov. 4

Seating: 120 (including 50 outdoors, seasonally)

Staff: About 20-25 full- and

BEN GARVER

“It is a lot of pressure, but there’s also a lot of pride, being responsible for it,” David Barile said of the restaurant business. “But I enjoy it, I love it, looking forward to another 20 years.” idate and put 100 percent into this place,” Barile said. In 2021, he bought the building housing On a Roll for $495,000. “It seemed like a smart idea, for end-game and retirement purposes,” he pointed out.

Barile spoke to The Eagle about staying open during the pandemic, staffing issues and the soaring costs of doing business in the food industry right now.

Comments have been lightly edited for length and brevity.

THE EAGLE: After the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in March 2020, how did you survive when many restaurants suffered severe setbacks?

BARILE: I stayed here, my daughter worked with me, and we did takeout and delivery.

Then in June, we started the outdoor dining on the deck and in the garden area, and having that was a big bonus for us. Then we got through the first winter, just following the restrictions and guidelines.

THE EAGLE: Now, in the

aftermath of the pandemic, staffing has been tough for many owners. How has it affected you?

BARILE: It is challenging, especially in the extremely busy summers, finding enough staff to get through those months.

But the increase in the minimum wage for tipped employees ($6.75 an hour) and the daytime hours, no nights, have been attractions. You can make a really good living and be out of here by 3 p.m. Luckily, we’ve never had to close because of staffing. My daughter, Emma, 26, also works here, helping with management. My other daughter Grace, 23, also went to Johnson & Wales, getting the same degrees I have, and she’s a sous-chef at Chomp in Warren, R.I. Hopefully, she may migrate back here in a few years.

THE EAGLE: Since dining-out costs have soared, how are you coping?

BARILE: Everybody sees how expensive food is when they go to the grocery store. With the min-

part time in the summer, around 10-12 in the “off-season.”

Information:413-637-9544 or www.onarollcafeandcatering.com imum wage increase, it’s great that people make more money, but obviously that has to trickle down [to customers]. I don’t have anyone making only minimum wage ($15 an hour for non-tipped hourly employees) — we pay $20 an hour on average.

THE EAGLE: After 20 years, any thoughts of retirement for you?

BARILE: No, I plan on keeping going. It’s been good; I’ve been lucky, it’s all I’ve ever done. At this point, we’re stable, I enjoy it, we have great staff; my chef, Luke Boulais, has been with me nearly 20 years. I’ve tried to step out of the kitchen since the pandemic to run the front, which is really at this point where I need to be. We do a lot of catering, and that helps.

It’s been a long road, between the pandemic and economics, ups and downs, but we’ve been able to weather it and strategize on how to get through these challenges. And why mess with what’s worked for 20 years?

18

Berkshire Business Journal

Brodie Mountain nets nearly $1M

By Jane K aufman

created Brodie Mountain Development LLC. NEW ASHFORD — The former Brodie MounOifer, who is listed as CFO of We Are tain ski resort has sold at auction for the Briefcase, a media content and cre$975,000 to a group of four Florida invesation company in Tampa Bay, Fla., would tors who plan to unveil their plans for the not say what the plans are for the propproperty in the spring. erty.

The 500-acre property had been on the “We’re very interested in the Berkshire market for two years and had been dorarea and New Ashford, and the history of mant for much longer, after Jiminy Peak Brodie Mountain,” he said, adding that acquired the resort, ultimately closed his group is “working very closely with it and sold it to Silverleaf Resorts LLC. the town and the state to bring as much Silverleaf Resorts was later acquired by economic impact to the town and to evMUROFF HOSPITALITY GROUP eryone.”

Holiday Inn Club Vacations, which had no interest in developing the property.

He would not specify immediate plans, Brodie Mountain has sold for $975,000 Mitchell Muroff, owner of Muroff to a group of Florida investors. The group saying that different investors among the Hospitality Group, who marketed the said they will reveal their plans in the group have different ideas. property, said there was immediate and spring.

Others are Richard Lindstrom, Drew sustained interest in the property, which McCallum and J.D. DeMatteo. he described as unique to the Berkshires, Lindstrom is a registered professional even at its initial price of $2.7 million about two years ago. lobbyist with Rutledge and Ecenia. Drew McCallum, according There were, however, two issues that made closing a sale diffi- to LinkedIn, is co-founder of ConnectWise Automate (formerly cult: One was that the deed carries a restriction barring it from LabTech Software), which offers remote monitoring an managebeing used as a downhill ski resort; the second is that the pur- ment software. DeMatteo is listed as board chair and co-founder chase cost “was inconsequential” to the cost of the entire devel- of Northeast BioIndustries LLC of Farmington, Conn. It has a opment, Muroff said. core competence “specific to cannabis-derived medical products He received one offer from a Texan interested in purchasing and applications,” according to its website. the property for closer to its final marketed price of $1.9 million, Oifer said he previously made an offer on the Brodie Mounand that potential investor put down a deposit of $100,000. Un- tain property that was rejected. able to obtain financial backing to complete the sale, the devel“It came back around,” he said. “We got a decent enough price oper left the deposit on the table. that we can’t screw up too bad.”

That, he said, was “very unusual.”

NewEnglandSkiHistory.com offers a detailed history of BroAfter that Holiday Inn took the step of listing the property at die. Following are some highlights from its account: auction, Muroff said, opting for an online format with the ComBrodie has been skied since the mid-1930s, when Joseph Asmercial Real Estate Exchange, known as CREXI. pinwall won the Eastern Amateur Ski Association open novice The online auction, which lasted for three days, placed a min- race. It had a ski jump and night skiing in its early years. After imum bid on the property of $250,000, but Holiday Inn had an a hiatus, under ownership of the Kelly family in the 1960s, Broadditional “floor,” Muroff said, of about $1 million. die reopened. It had a three-story base lodge, and by 1966 was “All the activity takes place in the last 30 minutes,” Muroff making snow. In 1967, it boasted the largest vertical drop in New said. “In fact, most of the activity takes place in the last 10 min- England. utes.”

In 1969, Johnny Cash filmed scenes for “Trail of Tears” at The sale came with an 11-acre landfill.

Brodie.

Muroff said he believes the best use of the property would be Cross-country skiing was developed in 1975. In 1999, the Kelfor a small development that takes advantage of the recreation- lys announced they were selling Brodie Mountain to Brian and al possibilities of the mountain.

Tyler Fairbank, owners of Jiminy Peak. Jiminy Peak shut down In fact, a video his group produced touts those possibilities, in- downhill skiing operations in the 2001-02 season, and Silverleaf cluding skiing, mountain biking and snowboarding, adventure Resorts bought the mountain or $2.6 million in 2004 with intenpark, ATV, ziplines and glamping. It points out its proximity to tions to build 326 timeshares. It was at that point that the deed Williams College, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary restriction was placed prohibiting commercial downhill skiing Art, the Clark Art Institute, Tanglewood and Lenox as well as and snowboarding.

Albany, New York City and Boston.

The developers will invest in the long-dormant mountain.

“The Berkshires have so much to offer,” a caption says, over“Everybody knows Brodie Mountain,” Oifer said. “We’ve got laying an image of Mount Greylock’s Veterans War Memorial big plans for it. ... Brodie’s going to be back.” against an amber sky. “Ski the beautiful Berkshires on your own slopes!”

Jane Kaufman is Community Voices Editor at The Berkshire Eagle. She Todd Oifer is one of the four investors who make up newly can be reached at jkaufman@berkshireeagle.com or 413-496-6125.

A nice return on investment Andover couple sells Dan Fox Drive shopping plaza for almost double what they paid for it in 2021

By Tony Dobrowolski PITTSFIELD — A pair of real estate investors from Andover purchased the shopping plaza that houses the Stop & Shop supermarket on Dan Fox Drive in Pittsfield for $3.85 million in October 2021.

Two years later, Manoj and Preeti Munjal have received a significant return on that investment, close to double what they paid for it.

The Munjals, a married couple, sold the 13-acre Del Alba Plaza for $6.3 million, according to documents filed at the Middle Berkshire Registry of Deeds in Pittsfield.

The plaza, which includes the 61,000-square foot-supermarket, a second much smaller structure and a gas station, is located at the corner of Dan Fox Drive and South Street (Route 7), the main route that motorists travel when they go to nearby Bousquet Mountain Ski Area.

The Munjals own NNM Realty Trust, which owned most of the Del Alba Plaza and is the parent company of two other

O’Brien FROM PAGE 3

graduate served as a senior leader in sixbank merger and acquisition transactions across Massachusetts.

They included Adams Community Bank’s $14.3 million acquisition of Lenox

realty trusts that each owned 18 percent of that property.

“We got a good offer,” said Preeti Munjal, when asked why the couple decided to sell the property now. ”It was a little too far for us from Boston, a good two and a half hour drive. We thought if we get a good price we might as well take advantage of that.

“Not bad,” she said, referring to the purchase price.

The new owner, Dan Fox Drive Pittsfield LLC, is a local affiliate of L2 Partners, a commercial real estate agency in Miami that was founded in 2014 and has acquired and manages $1.1 billion in commercial property across the country, including in Massachusetts, according to its website. The firm’s other properties in Massachusetts were unavailable.

L2 Partners, which also has offices in Chicago and Providence, R.I., has obtained a mortgage on the shopping plaza with Bank of America, according to registry documents. Lance Lazarus, listed

as the new ownership group’s resident agent in papers filed with the Secretary of State’s office, did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

The sale was arranged through a national broker that the Munjals worked with.

“It wasn’t actively on the market,” Preeti Munjal said.

“They approached us. We didn’t approach them,” she said. “They really wanted to be in this area.”

The Munjals had also renovated the property after buying it from Wells Fargo Bank. Preeti said the couple’s total investment was less than $500,000, but the work they performed on a smaller building on the property that is adjacent to the supermarket, allowed them to attract two national tenants: Amedisys Home Health, and Fyzical Therapy and Balance Centers. A third storefront in that 8,100 square-foot building is currently vacant.

“That building next to Stop & Shop we leased that, and with the additional rent [from the tenants] we got an additional return on our investment,” she said. “They are good tenants for the town. We completely redid that whole space for them.”

National Bank in 2015.

Referring to that acquisition and the 2012 merger, O’Brien said, “both those transactions expanded our footprint and opened new markets for us. For years, our vision was to be a countywide bank, and those two transactions helped us achieve that.”

“Throughout Charlie’s tenure, Adams

Community Bank has achieved notable milestones with our growth and bank culture,” said board chair Jeffrey Grandchamp in a statement. “His unwavering commitment to the community and tireless dedication to the bank’s mission have helped it flourish and earned him the respect and admiration of colleagues, staff and customers alike.”

December 2023

Bringing back Housatonic’s ‘town hall’ Ex-Brick House Pub to open as sports bar

By Heather Bellow GREAT BARRINGTON — One ventricle of Housatonic’s beating heart is about to be revived.

Krissy Williams, a Stockbridge native and former semi-professional soccer player, is opening a sports bar at the former Brick House Pub location on Park Street.

Williams will be leasing the space from Eric Gabriel, a Housatonic native and a Great Barrington Select Board member. Gabriel bought the building in August so that it could be revived by Williams as what he says is an important gathering place in the village, and one that’s been sorely missed for more than a year since the Brick House closed.

Williams plans to open the “Common or Garden Pub” by mid-December after Gabriel finishes some foundational work to the building, and Williams does some “cosmetic renovations.”

The name is pulled from a phrase used in the United Kingdom to describe something “ordinary.” Williams lived for several years in Scotland, where she played for Spartans FC Women.

Williams also is planning a beer garden in the back in the grassy area next to the river.

“I want to embrace the idea of keeping things classic, and approachable, and affordable and enjoyable for everybody,” Williams said. The food will be “traditional American pub food with Scottish flair — going back to those ordinary favorites,” she added.

There will also be a pool table in the back room.

“And more furnishings to give people lots of cozy places to sit,” Williams said. Williams also is adding TVs for more sports and areas where larger groups can focus on a specific game.

Both Williams and Gabriel said the stars aligned when a mutual friend introduced them. Gabriel, who had been keeping an eye on the Brick House, learned that the former pub was for sale.

The Brick House shut down temporarily in Nov. 2020 when an employee tested positive for COVID. It closed again sometime during 2021 but never reopened.

Gabriel, an electrician, knows the building well. He did some work there, he said, and his brother used to run the pub. He said he’s always been interested in it.

He didn’t, however, want to get into the restaurant business himself. He also didn’t like the idea of “another building in Housie being boarded up.”

He sees the opening as part of the village’s revitalization, joining the MUSE studios, the Berkshire Pulse dance school and plans to convert the former Housatonic School into apartments.

The community connections built at the Brick House, Gabriel said, can now be restored.

“It’s the ‘town hall’ of Housatonic,” he said of the former pub. “I just miss being able to walk down the street to the local gathering place. There are people who live just miles away who I haven’t seen since the Brick House closed.”

Williams played for the Spartans in Scotland, at Smith College, the University of Edinburgh and at Monument Mountain Regional High School — whose sports teams also are the Spartans.

“Where I started my career and ended my career,” Williams said of the Spartan name.

Now it’s on to something different.

“I reached a point in my life,” Williams said, “when I felt ready and wanted to open a pub in Berkshires.”

December 2023

Berkshire Business Journal

A ‘unique’ cultural partnership 4 Berkshire entities receive state funding for local projects

By Tony Dobrowolski

forming Arts Center. Ventfort Hall received $149,000 to repair and rebuild four PITTSFIELD — This year has been terrible fi- chimneys on the Gilded Age mansion’s nancially for regional theaters across the roof. Sheffield Historical Society will use country, even worse than the pandemic its $78,000 grant for drainage, grout and year of 2020. foundation work to the Old Stone Store.

“We have hit a perfect storm of bad cirWendy Healey, Ventfort Hall’s execucumstances that we’re all trying to sur- tive director, said capital grants like this vive,” said Nick Paleologos, the executive one will prevent the mansion, which director of Berkshire Theatre Group. was built in 1893 and is still in need of Yet, the organization has still found major renovations, from “disappearing a way to fund solar panels on the roof into the ground.” of the Colonial Theatre and a nearby “We couldn’t do it without the grant warehouse — without touching its opand all of the people that are here,” she erating budget. said.

The state’s Cultural Facilities Fund is The Cultural Facilities Fund was esresponsible for that. tablished in 2007 when former state Rep. BTG is one of four Berkshire cultural facilities, and one of seven from Western Daniel Bosley, D-North Adams, was head Massachusetts, that received fiscal 2024 of the House’s Economic Development Committee and is funded annually by funding for infrastructhe governor’s Capital ture improvements Investment Plan. The from the Cultural FaHow to apply Healy-Driscoll admincilities Fund, which istration invested $10 Applications for the next is run jointly by the million into the fund in Mass Cultural Counround of the Cultural fiscal 2024. cil and MassDevelopFacilities Fund grant cycle Mass. Cultural Counment. That makes up a are now open and will be cil Director Michael quarter of the 28 total accepted until Dec. 14.

Bobbitt said the agency facilities from across To apply, visit tinyurl. was able to fund about the state that received a com/3ts7rx62 combined $3.14 million 80 percent of the rein the latest round of quests that it received. funding this year.

The funding is used State and local officials marked the oc- for “everything from renovating theaters, casion recently with a news conference putting in solar systems and putting in at the Colonial Theatre. During his re- new elevators,” Bobbitt said. marks, Paleologos referred to the Cultur“If you’re running an arts organization al Facilities Fund as a lifesaver for small you tend to be raising money for general cultural entities like BTG. operations and programs, which takes a “It relieves us of operating expenses lot of time — and money,” Bobbitt said. that we would otherwise have to divert to “So if your roof needs repair, where is the buy solar panels,” Paleologos said, “and money going to come from? Having the sustainability for us is the Golden Fleece. state support capital projects is good.”

That’s the thing that we’re trying to get State Sen. Paul Mark, D-Becket, who to: long-term sustainability. chairs the Senate’s Tourism, Arts and “This partnership is unique,” he said.

Cultural Development Committee, said “In most other states if you wanted to put the funds from the program that are solar panels or fix a roof and some othspent in the Berkshires pay off. er capital expenditure, you’d have to find “Every dollar invested here is going to that money in your operational budget, which these days is strained to the limit.” be paid back tenfold,” Mark said.

“We know that arts and culture is busiBTG received a $153,000 capital grant ness and jobs,” said MassDevelopment’s from the Cultural Facilities Fund. The three other Berkshire recipients are President and CEO Daniel Rivera.

Mayor Linda M. Tyer said it took a long Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age time for Pittsfield to join the Berkshires’ Museum in Lenox, and the Sheffield His- cultural economy, but that those venues have now made a major economic impact torical Society.

Barrington Stage will use its $112,000 on the city.

“The Colonial Theatre is the flagship of grant to update theatrical lighting and audio equipment at the St. Germain the arts and culture renaissance in PittsStage in the Sydelle and Lee Blatt Per- field,” Tyer said.

Hot Dog Ranch seeks new owners Popular restaurant for sale for $2.3M

By M att M artinez PITTSFIELD — The Hot Dog Ranch, a sto-

ried Pittsfield eatery on West Housatonic Street, is up for sale — but it isn’t going anywhere, said owner Craig Benoit.

The restaurant, located at 114 West Housatonic St., is currently listed for just under $2.3 million. Benoit said the figure was calculated with help from his real estate agent, Steven Ray, and his accountant, based on the business’s history.

Its online listings boast a large parking lot, seating capacity for 99 patrons and “an award-winning restaurant with decades of profitable history.”

Benoit said the reason for the sale is simple: he wants to retire. But he expects that the sale will probably take up to two years to finalize with permitting and contracts. He’ll stay on until a deal is done to transfer the restaurant.

“This is a profitable restaurant,” Benoit said. “I’ll run it until I sell it. If I don’t sell it, I’ll run it until I’m not here anymore.”

He was asked if he expected a prospective buyer to carry on the Hot Dog Ranch after the sale.

“I would hope so,” Benoit said. “They would be foolish if they didn’t.”

Benoit took over the Hot Dog Ranch 19 years ago, along with co-owner Carl DeLuce. In the ensuing years, the partners grew the restaurant from selling

tiny hot dogs on Linden Street to a full-service sports bar and restaurant.

The Hot Dog Ranch business dates back to 1932. Benoit and DeLuce moved the business from 20 Linden St. to the West Housatonic location in 2016, expanding its menu to offer steaks, pasta dishes and a rotating specials menu.

And of course, they’re still offering the “famous baby hot dogs” that Pittsfield residents have enjoyed for decades.

The “baby franks” are still served with a sauce invented by the business’s original owner, according to previous reporting from The Eagle.

Benoit said that the restaurant is still profitable, and has a strong number of regulars keeping it busy. Benoit said that he and DeLuce, who died in 2018, put a lot of hard work and dedication into the restaurant to bring it where it is today.

But Benoit is 64, and has been handling day-to-day operations at the restaurant for years. He wants to start the process for a sale now so he can plan to retire within the next few years.

“This is part of the plan,” Benoit said. “This place is not going to sell tomorrow. I’ve got a good staff here. And we’re not closing ... I want to retire. And you have to have a plan.”

Those interested in purchasing the property can contact Steven Ray at 413441-3419.

19

Lucy’s Rendezvous

Pair to open new bar in Great Barrington

By Heather Bellow GREAT BARRINGTON — More downtown

changes are afoot as the owners of a Pittsfield bar and cafe are heading south to open a third venture.

Austin Oliver and Joad Bowman recently received their alcohol license from the Select Board for their new business, Lucy’s Rendezvous. The bar will be located in the alley that connects Main Street with The Triplex parking lot. It is the former location of Sruti Yoga Center in the Marble Block building at 268 Main St. Oliver and Bowman currently own two Pittsfield establishments: Thistle & Mirth Bar and Ramen Restaurant on West Street as well as Lulu’s Tiny Grocery in the Crawford Square building on the corner of North and Depot streets.

The pair also previously owned The Flatburger Society on McKay Street, which closed in January.

Lucy’s will open sometime in January, said Oliver in a phone interview.

Oliver said Thistle & Mirth’s “key bartender,” Zack Morris, will lead the project and that this is “an opportunity for [Morris] to grow his own career.” Morris, Oliver added, is often referred to as “the Sam Malone of the Berkshires,” a reference to the owner and bartender in the TV show “Cheers” — a character played by actor Ted Danson.

The 900-square-foot space, which holds 46 people, will feature a long bar as well as some tables, and high tops and will be mostly standing room, Bowman added.

“Mostly we try for spaces that encourage conversation and gathering,” Bowman told the board on Monday.

The application for the license says that Bowman and Oliver’s bars “focus on gathering, a simple but classic second living room. We will be devoid of TVs and other distraction, and will focus on quality service, conversation and well chosen product.”

Bowman also told the board they will collaborate with local artists for murals inside, and are not planning to serve food, but “prepackaged snacks,” and that customers can bring in food from

AUSTIN OLIVER

Thistle & Mirth bartender Zack Morris inside what will become Lucy’s Rendezvous, a conversation-oriented bar in Great Barrington. Morris is leading the project for owners Joad Bowman and Austin Oliver. The team hopes to open in January. other restaurants.

“The feel of the place will grow and evolve,” Oliver said, noting that most of the work is functional. They’ll put in a bar, refrigeration and some tap lines.

“The space is pretty naturally beautiful.”

The bar could also be host to small events or karaoke nights, Oliver added.

Oliver said he and Bowman love Great Barrington — as well as all the Berkshires — and have kept an eye on potential spaces to lease for such an enterprise.

The new venture comes as the downtown restaurant and retail landscape continues to shift. Some of the most recent changes include the closing of Twoflower Cafe in August. The owners of the longtime Gorham & Norton’s grocery, also in the Marble Block, said they are selling the business, as did the owners of Fuel Bistro & Coffee Shop.

The former owner of Flying Church Coffee is leasing the Main Street cottage to Carly’s Angels cafe.

Blackshires grants $18K to leadership program graduates The Berkshire Business Journal LENOX — The Blackshires Community Empowerment Foundation awarded $18,000 in grants to the graduates of the most recent cohort of its leadership accelerator program recently during a ceremony at Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum.

Each of the nine graduates received $2,000 to support ongoing work developing their projects and businesses.

These grants increase the total amount BLACKSHIIRES COMMUNITY of investment in the program’s cohort of EMPOWERMENT FOUNDATION leaders to nearly $50,000.

The graduates of the Blackshires The recipients and their projects Leadership Accelerator Program each include, Nigel Gayle for Ground-Up received $2,000 grants at a ceremony Soccer; Ranisha Grice, Grice’s Beauon Thursday. Front row from left, Imaran ty Spa Health & Wellness Program; Penny Bae Bridges, the Berkshire Col- Mayes, Penny Bridges, Julie Haagenson, lective; Veronica Warren, Walk Your Ranisha Grice; middle row, from left, Andre Own Road; and Ericka N. Hanger, the Lynch, Ericka Hanger, Veronica Warren, Nigel Gayle; top center, Eddie Rose.

Soul Liberation Collective.

Also receiving grants were: Andre Lynch, Berkshire Equity Association; Julie Haagenson, Arts For Us; Eddie Rose, Rose Performing Arts Center; and Imaran Mayes, health and wellness products for the Youth Initiative Mentorship Program.

The leaders of Blackshires also shared what they’ve learned from this pilot leadership accelerator program, which has received an additional $100,000 Urban Agenda grant from the state Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development for next year’s session. The new funding will allow improvements to be made to the Leadership Accelerator program and provide increased support for participants and organizational partners alike.

Blackshire’s Community Empowerment Foundation seeks to develop the longterm leadership capacity of 10-to-15 selected fellows annually by focusing on three critical areas of community and professional development: personal calling, management of people and external social capital.

The Blackshires Leadership Academy aims to equip the community fellows with a set of paradigms, experiences and relationships to sustain growth in these areas well beyond the year-long program.

20

Berkshire Business Journal

Real estate transactions BERKSHIRE COUNTY REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS FOR OCT. 2-27 ADAMS

$254,000.

Adams Community Bank sold property at 90 East Hoosac St., Adams, to Demitri Ayres and Nayeli Marie Olavarria, $188,000.

Gregory J. Vigna and Bryan M. Casuscelli, co-trustees of the River Road NT, sold property at 161 River Road, Clarksburg, to Mark Therrien Jr. LLC, $90,000.

Richard Adams sold property at 47 Crandall St., Adams, to Dennis and Constance Dreher, $380,000.

DALTON

John A. Schaffrick sold property at 15 Walnut St., Adams, to Kayla M. Brown-Wood, $150,000.

Joel C. Smith and Susan Carty-Smith sold property at 46 Falls Brook Terrace, Dalton, to Shelley K. and Richard J. Guyette Jr., $64,500.

Matthew Baldwin sold property at 3 McKinley St., Adams, to Trevor Michael Alibozek, $262,500.

Sean M. Cota sold property at East Orchard Terrace, Adams, to Scott R. and Karen A. Lebeau, $50,000.

Sherry A. LaFleur sold property at 16 Murray St., Adams, to Joseph H. Segala, $185,000.

Judith F. Lederer, trustee, Lederer FT, sold property at 383 Red Barn Road, Dalton, to Richard A. and Margaret S. Dickson, $775,000.

Donna L. Freed sold property at 544 North St., Dalton, to Stanley R. Little, $140,000.

Joseph V. Astuccio II sold property at 7 Albert St., Adams, to Big Name Investments LLC, $105,000.

Amy L. Stevens sold property at 61 Patricia Ave., Dalton, to John Christian and Karen Ann Onderko, $365,900.

Kelly J. Michalski sold property at 4 Burnett St., Adams, to Richard A., Mary F., Julie A., and Patricia M. Jette, trustees of the Six Burnett Street NT, $65,400.

Lindsay Cornwell sold property at 121 Pleasant St., Dalton, to Ryan J. Stengl, $274,121.

John D. Duquette Jr. sold property at 1 Harmony St., Adams, to Anna D’Antuono and Alissa Provencher, $231,000.

ALFORD Anne Stosiek, personal rep. of the Estate of Mary E. Voos, sold property at 140 Green River Road, Alford, to Anne Stosiek and Christopher Stosiek, $640,000.

James K. Tucker and Hae Kyoung Tucker sold property at 0 East Road, Alford, to Monument Mountain Lodge LLC, $345,000.

Peter W. Tucker and Priscilla A. Tucker sold property at 78 East Road, Alford, to Mark Rosengren and Caren Mercer Montano, $400,250.

BECKET Anna K. Corcoran, trustee, Anna K. Corcoran RVT and Charles F. Corcoran III, trustee, Charles F. Corcoran III RVT, sold property at 192 Benton Hill Road, Becket, to Mara Anne McCann, $180,000.

Walter Maronde III sold property at 348 Yokun Pond Road, Becket, to Bruce Davey and Betty Riedinger, $115,000.

Joan Caroline McDonagh and Frederick Woodruff Mettler, trustees, Elizabeth Zorn Mettler Trust, sold property at 204 Old Pond Road and Old Pond Road, Becket, to Four Paddles LLC, $320,500.

Allison P. Gregory Jr. sold property at 100 and 112 Highland Road, Becket, to Karen Stark, $164,000.

Darlene Kelli Ransom sold property at 40 Mohekunuk Road, Becket, to Steven Mahalic and Antionette Mahalic, $262,000.

Elizabeth R. Newland, trustee, Paul & Kathleen Breault Family Irrevocable Trust, sold property at Pine Dale Circle, Becket, to David Kelly, $5,500.

Roseanna Marie Duclos, personal rep. of the Estate of Thomas J. Nicora, sold property at 59 Sir Jeffrey Drive, Becket, to Kimberly Ann Slater and Dean White, $255,000.

Stephen L. and Gail L. Hollander sold property at Hamilton Road, Becket, to Oscar Motsi and Primrose Motsi Nemhara, trustees, Motsi Nemhara LT, $14,000.

Michael E. and Marian E. Rhein, trustees, 103 Big Bass Lane NT, sold property at 103 Big Bass Lane, Becket, to Robert and Yvonne Tracy Levine, $900,000.

Bruce and Elaine Bosworth sold property at 135 Mallard Drive, Becket, to Nicholas Mastracchio and Chloe Boylan, $650,000.

Ben M. Seligsohn, trustee, Adrea D. Seligsohn Trust, sold property at 139 Sitting Bull Drive Becket, to Mark and Pamela Goldstein, $607,500.

Jerald and Esther Jewell sold property at 313 Woodmere Road, Becket, to Lauran Potter, $575,000.

Andre Ledoux sold property at King Arthur Drive and Nottingham Circle, Becket, to Roger and Wendy Duryea, $13,000.

CHESHIRE Gary H. and Rebecca A. Herzog sold property at 612 Notch Road, Cheshire, to Caleb J. Robert, $400,000.

John L. Mueller and Sheila H. Roman sold property at 380 Richmond Hill Road, Cheshire, to Jake L. Kordana and Jennie F. Wolf, $450,000.

Nicholas J. and Mia Y. Barber sold property at 278 East Harbor Road, Cheshire, to Jeanne Siemer, $515,000.

Luke P. St. Pierre sold property at 777 Sandmill Road, Cheshire, to Jack Gibeau, $150,000.

CLARKSBURG Christopher J. Cahoon sold property at 1130 Middle Road, Clarksburg, to Daniel J. Haskins, $120,000.

Krystal D. Chesbro sold property at 645 East Road, Clarksburg, to Gavin R. and Robert W. Mahar,

Nhac Truong sold property at 6 Cooper Road, Great Barrington, to Nhan Duy Truong, $310,000.

Lenox Landings Barrington Brook Holdings LLC sold property at 16 Thrushwood Lane, Great Barrington, to Richard S. Goldenson and Robin P. Goldenson, $864,260.34.

Kimada Realty LLC sold property at Rosseter Street, Great Barrington, to 4S Realty LLC, $100,000.

HANCOCK Edward C. and Jodie A. Heins sold property at 37 Corey Road, Unit 645, Hancock, to Frank S. Mendelsohn, $128,000.

December 2023 tain Road, Lenox, to Bina Gabbriel, $634,000.

Edward S. Rensin, trustee, Edward S. Rensin Trust, sold property at 20 Wexford Court, Lenox, to Ruth Ann Lanier, $488,000.

Margaret L. Ward sold property at 9 Fairwynds Drive, Lenox, to David and Lois Parker, $1,295,000.

MONTEREY Michael Storch and Lois Storch, co-trustees of Michael Storch and Lois Storch Revocable Trust Agreement, sold property at 19 Art School Road, Monterey, to Matthew P. Tymchak and Karyn I. Novakowski, $812,500.

Christopher and Stavroula Ioannides sold property at 37 Corey Road, Unit 623, Hancock, to Bradley S. and Carla S. Staeben, $128,000.

Wendy Germain, trustee of Jean Germain Nominee Trust, sold property at 3 Buckingham Lane, Monterey, to Wendy Germain and Michael Germain, co-trustees of Germain Family Revocable Trust, $410,000.

Gregory A. Adams sold property at Corey Road, Hancock, to Kevin D. and Nancy L. Foote, trustees of the Kevin D. Foote RVT, $152,500.

Marcia Sukenik Weiss and Kenneth D. Weiss sold property at 53 Stevens Lake Road, Monterey, to Jennifer Gilbert and John Ellersick, $2,060,000.

Paul G. and Sally W. Myers sold property at 9201 Mountainside Drive, Hancock, to Gloria Gong and Carl Brinton, $605,000.

Monterey Tennis Inc. sold property at Hupi Road, Monterey, to Hupi Tennis LLC, $60,000.

HINSDALE

MOUNT WASHINGTON

Erik E. Tiele sold property at 121 Calvin Road, Hinsdale, to Benjamin Melle and Dennis Messana, $155,000.

Leonard Salamon and Dianne Salamon sold property at 516 East St., Mount Washington, to Galvydas Kuncas, $467,500.

James A. and Janet Zeltmann sold property at 60 North St., Dalton, to Mary F. Terio, $150,000.

Suzanne M. Wool, personal rep. of the Estate of Annette B. Ferron, sold property at 180 Robinson Road, Hinsdale, to Amy L. Stevens and Daniel Bailly, $430,000.

Ann J. Kimball, personal rep. of the Estate of Eben O. Kimball aka Eben O. Kimball Jr., sold property at 0 East St., Mount Washington, to A. Mackenzie W. Waggaman and Judy Isacoff, $3,000.

Paul D. Pharmer III, trustee, Roseann Pharmer RVT of 2010, sold property at 926 South St., Dalton, to Nestor Riva, $344,000.

Roger A. and Evelyn Kellogg-Culver sold property at Ashmere Lake, Hinsdale, to Peter J. DiGrigoli Jr., $40,000.

NEW MARLBOROUGH

Angela S. Lee sold property at 19 Crane Ave., Dalton, to Emma O. Cornwell and Lane K. Grogan, $340,000.

LANESBOROUGH

Patricia A. Conway sold property at 60 North St., Dalton, to Mary Kathryn Volpone, $175,000.

Gayle Buckley sold property at Brodie Mountain Road, Lanesborough, to Robert Joseph Wenger Jr. and Elizabeth Susan Karr, $75,000.

Amy Knapp Moreau, Geoffrey Baker Knapp, William Blount Eyre, Lucy Eyre, Therese Leigh Eyre, Melanie Eyre Christie, Tina Elizabeth Repp, Cameron Eyre Repp, Mark Eyre Knapp, and Charles Whitmore Knapp III sold property at Norfolk Road, New Marlborough, to Christian Arthur Alm, $75,000.

Wendy Peppe Anderson sold property at 223 Narragansett Ave., Lanesborough, to Robin Sterneck and April Peppe, $166,666.67.

Area Deerwood LLC sold property at 228 Deerwood Park Road, New Marlborough, to Ellison Real Estate LLC, $410,000.

Donna E. Therrien sold property at 69 Greylock Estates Road, Lanesborough, to Andrew S. and Rachel B. Weaver, $575,140.

John A. Fitzpatrick and Joan A. Smith sold property at 112 New Marlborough-Southfield Road, New Marlborough, to Stuart Hochberger and Ellen Hochberger, $167,050.

John Paul Jensen sold property at 15 Judith Drive, Dalton, to Vincent J. Cantarella, $50,000.

Chad Tarves sold property at 152 South St., Dalton, to Theresa J. Miller, $190,000.

Paul F. Rodhouse Sr. and Gloria D. Rodhouse sold property at 475 & 500 Grange Hall Road, Dalton, to Alba M. Passerini, $16,400.

EGREMONT Ingrid B. Haeckel and Bridig M. Flynn, trustees of Brigid M. Flynn 2002 Revocable Trust and H. Bernhard Haeckel 2002 Revocable Trust, sold property at 302 and 302A Egremont Plain Road, Egremont, to Kimberly Perkins, $1,400,000.

Zandy Ariss and Chevonne Ariss sold property at 18 Hilltop Road, Egremont, to Bruna De Araujo and Andrew Personette, $700,000.

17 Sheffield Road LLC sold property at 17 Sheffield Road, Egremont and Great Barrington, to Michael Schlitt and Nancy Keystone, trustees of Michael Schlitt and Nancy Keystone Trust Agreement and 17 Sheffield RD LLC, $1,256,500.

John T. and Karen Belland sold property at 48 Imperial St., Lanesborough, to Molly Wilson and Morgan Hager-Perry, $360,000.

Steven F. Huska, Joyce M. Coco, Holly M. Hunter, and Catherine L. Huska sold property at 54 Balance Rock Road, Lanesborough, to Alexander H. and Michelle M. Bartels, $375,000.

LEE Alicia L. Soules sold property at 20 Chanter Road, Lee, to Michael J. Soules, $12,500.

NORTH ADAMS Tiffany B. Hartlage, personal rep. of Linda Lee Hartlage, sold property at 70 Maple St., North Adams, to Paul F. Morse Jr. and Melissa Fortini, $170,000.

Gail A. Grandchamp sold property at 497 Barbour St., North Adams, to Kurt B. Collins, $200,000.

Ellen Pendleton Bucky sold property at 68 Davenport St., North Adams, to Nora S. Kenneway, $275,000.

Keelynn M. Harris sold property at 54 Housatonic St., Lee, to Nicholas S. Gray, $275,000.

Nathan G. Girard, successor trustee of Berkshire Restoration NT, sold property at 324-326 Union St., North Adams, to John F. and Leigh Crosier, $153,000.

Martha H. King sold property at 121 Jug End Road, Egremont, to Mark Joseph Phillips, $360,000.

John C. and Carol E. LePrevost sold property at 125 Center St., Lee, to Mauricio Rubio and Eeva Mikkola, $405,000.

Vivian Guillotte sold property at 62-64 Chase Ave., North Adams, to Charity Kwartengmaah and Faustina Agyeiwaa Kodua Andoh-Kwofie, $147,400.

FLORIDA

Joshua Clairmont sold property at 745 Tyringham Road, Lee, to Michael J. and Valerie Maria Mersock, $535,000.

Jeanne M. and Richard J. Guyette Sr. sold property at 70 Brooklyn St., North Adams, to Mark Meczywor and Katherine Brooks, $210,000.

Becky A. Tovani sold property at 179 Mohawk Trail, Florida, to Noah D. Matrigali, $187,500.

Lisa Zabian, trustee, Candy’s Dream House NT, sold property at 119 Old Pleasant St., Lee, to Candace D. Docimo, $78,750.

Danmark LLC sold property at 50 Veazie St., North Adams, to Christopher Joseph and Kelly Kathleen Conti, $274,900.

GREAT BARRINGTON

905 Pleasant Street LLC sold property at 905 Pleasant St., Lee, to Smethurst Realty LLC, $1,000,000.

Provincetown Group LLC sold property at 17-19 Bracewell Ave., North Adams, to 20 Gregory Farm LLC, $105,000.

Stephen D. Poirot sold property at 413 Mohawk Trail, Florida, to Adam L. Richardson, $250,000.

258 Stockbridge Road LLC sold property at 258 Stockbridge Road, Great Barrington, to No Comply Headquarters LLC, $495,000.

Andrew Naventi and Mary Zurawka sold property at 216 Oak St. North, Great Barrington, to Stacy Banas and Laura Dunne, $437,000.

Meadow Farm Equipment Inc. sold property at 1160 Pleasant St., Lee, to Massachusetts Electric Company, $65,000.

James M. Pedro sold property at 33-35 Hall St., North Adams, to 20 Gregory Farm LLC, $84,000.

LENOX

James M. Pedro sold property at 27 Hall St., North Adams, to 20 Gregory Farm LLC, $66,000.

John Sawyer and Robert Sawyer sold property at 66 State Road, Great Barrington, to Luis Alberto Arroyo and Rosa Adelaida Quizhpi Uzhca, $260,000.

James M. Weber sold property at 248 Osceola Notch Road, Lenox, to Jacob Choi and Helen Prilutski White, $840,000.

John J. and Carol M. Greenbush sold property at 41 Holbrook St., North Adams, to Sundhan Yoon, $305,000.

Emily A. Herder sold property at 147 Maple Ave., Great Barrington, to Courtney Kielman, $335,000.

Timothy J. and Allison L. Kearns sold property at 93 Crystal St., Lenox, to Joshua Meltzer, $465,000.

Hans Heuberger and Ruth Heuberger sold property at 11 Oak St., Great Barrington, to Peter L. Schulte and Ann Marie Heath, $895,000.

Polizoi and Olta Ilia sold property at 6-1 Rolling Hills, Lenox, to Norman C. and Jeanne Kierman Fischer, $350,000.

Moresi Commercial Investments LLC sold property at 258 and 262-268 Ashland St., North Adams, to Leto Commercial Group LLC, $430,000.

Laurence Gadd and Amy Gallagher, trustees of Book House Nominee Realty Trust, sold property at 27 Rosseter St., Great Barrington, to Refill LLC, $350,000.

Henry S. Simonds sold property at 12B Starwood Drive, Lenox, to Susan Fant Freeman and Todd Beckett McGinley, trustees, Susan Fant Freeman RVT, $353,000.

Vivian Babakanian Frazier, trustee of Vivian Babakanian Frazier Trust, sold property at 8 Lake View Road, Great Barrington, to Nicholas Onofrey and Meaghan Onofrey, $895,000.

Warren Palmer sold property at 83 Van Deusenville Road, Great Barrington, to David A. Ruhnke and Jean D. Barrett, $485,000.

Mitchell Wertlieb, Lauren Wertlieb and Thomas Fitzpatrick, co-trustees of Gerald S. Wertlieb Irrevocable Trust, sold property at 307 Long Pond Road, Great Barrington, to David Weiss Cash and Anne Weiss, $908,100.

Lucy V. Brotman sold property at 26 Pearl St., Great Barrington, to Keith A. Pelletier and Christine L. Pelletier, $476,100.

Carolyn B. Butler sold property at 90 East St., Lenox, to Andrew and Susan Wrba, $620,000.

Cheryl L. Martin sold property at 260 Pittsfield Road, Lenox, to Robert L. Ragaini and Denise Murphy, $188,800.

Neal Tolchin sold property at 461 Under Mountain Road, Lenox, to Mark Jones and Mark Vanhoenacker, $607,500.

Robert A. and Karen M. Kowalczyk sold property at 2 Meadow Lane, Lenox, to Bruce A. Hurlbut, trustee, Tete Hurlbut FT, $359,900.

Russell B. and Anne E. Ephraim, trustees of the Russell & Anne Ephraim RVT, sold property at 28 Holbrook St., North Adams, to Mary L. Mottolo, 235,000.

Henry G. Stanley sold property at 455 State St., North Adams, to James M. Pedro, $70,000.

Michelle M. Waryjasz sold property at 97-99 Glen Ave., North Adams, to Evan Butler, $282,000.

OTIS Jennifer Daily and Susan Quinn sold property at 33 Pinnacle Road, Otis, to Michael J. and Lori A. Collins, $425,000.

Jared J. and Kimberly E. Bruscoe sold property at 24 South Gate Island Road, Otis, to Rino and Beth Nori, $849,000.

Sherry A. Fine sold property at 74 Sequena Drive, Otis, to William Eliott Saltzman and Dorit Tabak, $535,195.

Allen W. and Bette J. Smith sold property at 86 Housatonic St., Lenox, to JDRF Properties LLC, $300,000.

Thomas C. and Julie A. Forest sold property at 135 Ed Jones Road, Otis, to Margaret E. Morrison, $500,000.

William S. Swann Jr. sold property at 143 West Moun-

REAL ESTATE, Page 21

December 2023

Berkshire Business Journal

Real estate

Susan R. Martin and Paul T. Ryan, personal reps. of the Estate of Jean L. Ryan, sold property at Blythewood Drive, Pittsfield, to Ian S. Gunn and Laura K. Donnelly, $24,000.

FROM PAGE 20 Stephen D. Grossman, trustee, Stephen D. Grossman Nominee Realty Trust, sold property at 120 Sequena Drive, Otis, to Hilary Hotchkiss and Maurice Salth, $760,000.

Sheri Lynn Jenny sold property at Route 8, Otis, to Tammy and Arthur Mathieu, $20,000.

David S. Andersen and Toni L. Makarski sold property at Dimmock Road, Otis, to Kent P. and Julie A. Bauer, $80,000.

Richard D. and Deborah L. Weld sold property at 56 North Pine St., Otis, to Glenn and Lisa Durante, $55,000.

Maxwell J. Winer sold property at 311 Tamarack Trail, Otis, to Mark David Rego and Sherra L. Stewart-Rego, $495,000.

Zachary D. and Sarah J. Kelley sold property at 70 South Main Road, Otis, to Timothy G. Wighton, $400,700.

Phyllis Ettinger, trustee, Phyllis Ettinger LT, sold property at 77 Sequena Drive, Otis, to Shari Leventhal, $645,000.

Eric and Jane Wachs sold property at 305 Sequena Drive, Otis, to Jesse T. and Michelle S. Cohen, $795,000.

PITTSFIELD Mortgage Research Center LLC and Dale Jensen sold property at 162 Madison Ave., Pittsfield, to Mortgage Research Center LLC, $83,210.

Patricia H. Elser, trustee, Patricia H. Elser Trust-2006 and Donn C. Elser Jr. trust-2006, sold property at 12-14 Courtland Place, Pittsfield, to Rick Neumann, $70,000.

Manuel C. Burnias, trustee, Burnias FT, sold property at 247 Linden St., Pittsfield, to Marines Fatima Dos Reis, $115,000.

Deborah M. Caparrelli sold property at 156 Fort Hill Ave., Pittsfield, to Deborah A. Calnan, $317,500.

Alexis M. Vega sold property at 164-166 Elm St., Pittsfield, to Tyler L. Garrett, $233,000.

Melissa Agolli sold property at 83 West Union St., Pittsfield, to Jason Smith, $330,000.

Nancy G. Pilblad and Patricia A. Kern, personal reps. of the Estate of Eleanor J. Turner, sold property at 114 Benedict Road, Pittsfield, to Joshua A. Dalton, $219,900.

Joseph Hassoun sold property at 49 Yorkshire Ave., Pittsfield, to Margaret Stern, $343,000.

Cleopatra Rodriguez and Homero Toro sold property at 100 Brown St., Pittsfield, to Erika T. Casas, $240,000.

Reynolds Children’s Properties LLC sold property at 1638 West Housatonic St., Pittsfield, to Timothy R. Boody, $250,000.

Terrence A. and Debra A. Yon sold property at 16 Briggs Ave., Pittsfield, to Daphne Hajovsky, $215,000.

Brian D. and Erica J. Reu sold property at 17-19 Glenwood Ave., Pittsfield, to Poppolis LLC, $220,000.

Berkshire Neighborhood Development Partners Inc. sold property at 75 Wellington Ave., Pittsfield, to 555 East Street Realty LLC, $70,000.

Cabrini LLC sold property at 20-22 Pomeroy Ave., 289 Fenn St. and 184-186 Second St., Pittsfield, to Hurricane Properties LLC, $956,000.

21

Jennifer Salgado, $230,000.

Antigone Merritt sold property at 27 Aspen Way, Pittsfield, to Louis P. and Ellen Elbrand, $575,000.

Alan D. Cohen sold property at 75 Clydesdale Drive , Pittsfield, to Nicholas E. Pitel and Angela M. Sirois-Pitel, $410,000.

Cheryl C. Rocca sold property at 245-247 and 249 Francis Ave., Pittsfield, to Marcio J. DaSilva and Carlos Rigonato, $280,000.

Seasonal Pleasure LLC sold property at 20 Warwick St., Pittsfield, to Susan S. Hollister, trustee, Susan S. Hollister RVT 2020, $555,000.

Michael McNeil sold property at 32 Grace Terrace, Pittsfield, to James Vivacqua and Joan Garcia, $340,000.

Theodore Hiser sold property at 39 Henry Ave., Pittsfield, to South Mountain Homes LLC, $249,900.

City of Pittsfield sold property at Harryel Street, Pittsfield, to Rebecca S. Knox, $1,000.

Jay M. Gaudette sold property at 36 Plastics Ave., Pittsfield, to Steven L. Pierce, $240,000.

Jennifer Querbes, Daric Herbert, individually and personal reps. of the Estate of John L. Herbert and Jonathan Herbert, sold property at 271 Tyler St. and 4 Courtland Place, Pittsfield, to Paul Sadana, $200,000.

RICHMOND Timothy J. Walsh and Andrea C. Harrington sold property at 268 Lenox Road, Richmond, to William and Susan Harrington, trustees, William Harrington and Susan Harrington RVT, $580,000.

Charles St. John sold property at 331 Rossiter Road, Richmond, to Barbara C. Sproul, $2,000,000.

SANDISFIELD

Elizabeth M. Brockley sold property at 114 Broadview Terrace, Pittsfield, to Noah and Kaylee Beauregard, $201,500.

Daniel K. and Sharon M. Gordon sold property at 1863 East St., Pittsfield, to Kelley Brothers Holdings I LLC, $635,000.

Liza M. Valenti sold property at 614 Crane Ave., Pittsfield, to Vincent and Allison Beraldi, $360,000.

Nancy Sommer sold property at 3 Alcott Lane, Pittsfield, to Kenneth Pursell, $415,000.

Michael A. Sciola sold property at 21 Elberon Ave., Pittsfield, to Brian and Erica Reu, $260,000.

Pinnacle Property Operations LLC sold property at 57 Adam St., Pittsfield, to Jeffrey Zabriskie, $148,000.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs sold property at 26-28 Wellington Ave., Pittsfield, to Rigonato Construction LLC, $70,000.

Alfred G. and Amy R. Gelinas, trustee, Alfred and Amy Gelinas LT, sold property at 26-28 Livingston Ave., Pittsfield, to Jason A. Gelinas, $305,220.

Linda J. Clark sold property at 48 Pittsfield Ave., Pittsfield, to Danielle Harriott, $289,900.

Richard Pleau sold property at 38-40 Springside Ave., Pittsfield, to Berkshire Home Rentals LLC, $200,000.

Robert C. Findlen, personal rep. of the Estate of Margaret Ann Gleason, sold property at 119 Pollock Ave., Pittsfield, to Robert Michael and Elizabeth M. Montgomery, $432,000.

Smitaben D. Shah sold property at 784-792 Tyler St., Pittsfield, to DACA LLC, $130,000.

Maxwell J. Winer sold property at 311 Tamarack Trail, Sandisfield, to Mark David Rego and Sherra L. Stewart-Rego, $495,000.

Gary and Claudine Buchard and Wells Fargo Bank NA, trustee, 2-4 Cherry St., Pittsfield, to Wells Fargo Bank NA, trustee, $107,461.35.

Phyllis Ettinger, trustee of Phyllis Ettinger Living Trust, sold property at 77 Sequena Drive, Sandisfield, to Shari Leventhal, $645,000.

Joel F. and Tora F. Huntington sold property at 105 Pollock Ave., Pittsfield, to Mark V. and Denise M. Matthews, $375,000.

Eric Wachs and Jane Wachs sold property at 305 Sequena Drive, Sandisfield, to Jesse T. Conan and Michelle S. Cohen, $795,000.

City of Pittsfield sold property at Dewey Avenue, Pittsfield, to Maria Rodriguez, $250.

SHEFFIELD

Michael J. and Candice M. Schroth sold property at 78 Glory Drive, Pittsfield, to Leonard W. and Diane M. Light, $800,000.

Luis Chavez sold property at 26 Virginia Ave., Pittsfield, to Samantha L. Haines, $235,000.

Corey A. and Hannah E. Delisle-Stall sold property at 95 Chickering St., Pittsfield, to Monika Burczyk, $328,000.

Rosewood Homestyle Assisted Living Inc. sold property at 316 Onota St. and 318-320 Onota St., Pittsfield, to Rosewood Note LLC, $713,078.20.

Stephen and Rebecca Ayraud, trustees, Stephen and Rebecca Ayraud RVFT, sold property at 33 Maplewood Ave., Pittsfield, to Peter P. and Joni R. Berardino, $170,000.

Evan and Mary Lou Campbell sold property at 72 Alba Ave., Pittsfield, to Dorothy Tibbetts, $268,000.

Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity Inc. sold property at 32 West Union St., Pittsfield, to Veronica S. Warren, $142,400.

Susan M. Posthauer sold property at 109 Cadwell Road, Pittsfield, to Terry Derderian, $175,000.

Kurt M. Hospot and Albert Wojtkowski, trustees, AK 231 RT, sold property at 231 Columbus Ave., Pittsfield, to C&A Rentals Management LLC, $75,000.

LND Investments LLC sold property at 21 Pleasant St. and 158-160 Second St., Pittsfield, to 160-189 North St. Pittsfield MA LLC, $240,000.

Karen J. Andrews sold property at 14-16 Boylston St., Pittsfield, to GROSU LLC, $250,000.

Mountain Stream LLC sold property at Cascade Street, Pittsfield, to Donald Carlow, $70,000.

Antoinette E. Lynch sold property at 35 Allessio St., Pittsfield, to Sharon J. Gagnon, $265,000.

Mountain Stream LLC sold property at Cascade Street, Pittsfield, to Carlaw LLC, $65,000.

Marc A., Lisa M. and Maria A. Mastrangelo sold property at 41 Oak Hill Road, Pittsfield, to Guidewire Inc., $447,500.

Susan S. Hollister, trustee, Susan S. Hollister RVT 2020, sold property at 51 Holmes Road, Pittsfield, to Kathleen Evans-Correia, $575,000.

Louis A. and Joy C. Costi sold property at 762 East St., Pittsfield, to James S. McRory Jr., $125,000.

Jean Perrea sold property at 185 Cole Ave., Pittsfield, to Wayne and Shannon Santelli, $300,000.

Anthony J. Witherell sold property at 2 Marco Drive, Pittsfield, to Charles and Danielle Osei, $255,000.

Pinnacle Property Operations LLC sold property at 55 Adam St., Pittsfield, to Miguel Portillo, $154,500.

Donald F. Troy Jr. and Lori J. Troy, trustees, Donald F. Troy Jr. and Lori J. Troy RVT, sold property at 30 Stonehenge Road, Pittsfield, to Sean and Nicole Lonsdale, $585,000.

Jennifer L. Metcalf sold property at 921 North St., Pittsfield, to Renato F. and Viola A. Lezama, $265,000.

Raul Mejia and Sophia Hernandez sold property at 822-824 North St., Pittsfield, to Deivy R. Diaz and

Marissa Bogins sold property at 157 Dorchester Ave., Pittsfield, to Daniel and Eunice Amenlemah, $278,000.

Jacqueline and Bruce R. Ramsey-Rosenhein sold property at 174 Dawes Ave., Pittsfield, to Nathan C. D’Angona and Rebecca T. Cao, $500,000.

Cynthia L. Slocik sold property at Churchill Street, Pittsfield, to Brendan A. Sullivan, $40,000.

Shanna A. and Michael S. Curley-Graham sold property at 41 Delancy Ave., Pittsfield, to Kyle M. O’Brien-Asmah and Frederick Asmah-Appo, $350,000.

George N. Apostolatos and Anne Apostolatos sold property at 0 South Sandisfield Road, Sandisfield, to Abigail Gindele, trustee of Abigail Gindele Living Trust, $120,000.

Stephen D. Grossman, trustee of Stephen D. Grossman Nominee Realty Trust, sold property at 120 Sequena Drive, Sandisfield, to Hilary Hotchkiss and Maurice Salth, $760,000.

Kevin Connolly and Madeline Connolly sold property at New Hartford Road, Sandisfield, to Matthew C. Gordon, $25,000.

Linda A. Conklin, personal rep. of the Estate of Robert D. Modica, sold property at 169 Ashley Falls Road, Sheffield, to Jill H. Teitel, trustee of Jill H. Teitel Revocable Living Trust, $575,000.

Ronald Bonenfant sold property at Berkshire Lake Estates, Unit 3, Lots 21 & 22, Block 3, Cactus Street, Sheffield, to Rhonda Cushwa and Nathaniel R. Divine, $1,500.

STOCKBRIDGE Stephen A. Carlino, trustee, Stephen A. Carlino RVT, REAL ESTATE, Page 22

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Berkshire Business Journal

People in the Berkshires Berkshire Community College has added five full-time faculty/staff members, promoted two other staffers, and changed titles for two others.

Dylan Carman joins BCC as a full-time life sciences faculty member.

Carman, a BCC alum, previously served for several years as a BCC adjunct instructor and STEM life sciences coach, as well as the chemistry Carman lab assistant. The Pittsfield resident holds a bachelor of science degree in neuroscience from Western New England University in Springfield.

Mary Dickman has been named an assistant professor of communications. She previously taught communications courses at Bunker Hill Community College and at University of Massachusetts Amherst, where Dickman she also worked as a writing coach in the Commonwealth Honors College.

Born and raised in Tampa, Fla., Dickman holds a master of arts degree in women’s and gender studies from the University of South Florida; a bachelor of science degree in psychology, sociology and philosophy, also from the University of South Florida; and an associate degree from Pasco-Hernandez Community College.

Julia Gallagher has been named full-time faculty in the nursing program. She has been an adjunct faculty member at BCC since 2020, working for both the associate degree in nursing and practical nurse programs. Gallagher She has also served as the facilitator of nursing tutoring services for the past three years.

She graduated from BCC’s nursing program and earned her bachelor’s degree from Elms College, where she is currently enrolled in the master’s program with a specialty in nursing education. She works at Fairview Hospital and at Berkshire Meadows.

Margaret Goss joins BCC as fulltime faculty in the respiratory therapy

program, for which she will serve as chair. Goss has served as the clinical coordinator for BCC’s Respiratory Program as an adjunct since 2009.

Goss graduated from the BCC Respiratory Program in 1998. She holds a bachelor of sciGoss ence degree from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and a master of science degree in respiratory care leadership from Northeastern University. She is also the supervisor for cardio-respiratory services at Albany, N.Y., Medical Center.

Lori Wynters has been named an assistant professor of psychology.

She has been a longtime faculty member at both the Goddard Graduate Institute at Goddard College and SUNY New Paltz. Wynters Wynters has also taught at Vassar College, Marist College and Greenfield Community College.

She holds a doctorate in social/counseling psychology from Union Institute and University; a master of fine arts degree in interdisciplinary arts from Goddard College; a master of education degree in counseling psychology from Temple University; and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy/ethics and religion from Binghamton University.

Jennifer Filippi has been promoted to accountant V — grants accountant.

She previously served as accountant III, a position she had held since May 2022.

Karrie Trautman has been promoted to permanent director of financial services. She had served in this position on an interim basis since May. She has previously served as the coordinator of One Stop operations. She has been employed at BCC since June 2013.

George Ambriz is now assistant dean of enrollment management and retention after previously serving as assistant dean of student affairs/director of Success. He has been employed at BCC since June 2018.

Lyndsay Isham-Morton is now director of academic advising and coaching after previously serving as director of academic and career advising. She has been employed by BCC since January 2016.

Real estate

berg and Elizabeth T. Shimberg, $100,000.

FROM PAGE 21 sold property at 3 Mahkeenac Terrace, Stockbridge, to Berkshire Meadows LLC, $855,000.

Justin Davies and Mara Goodman-Davies sold property at 200 Old Stockbridge Road, Stockbridge, to Barbara D. Fiddler, trustee, Barbara D. Fiddler LT, and Barbara D. Fiddler and Richard J. Mahoney, $485,000.

Susan M. Sachs sold property at 3 Mahkeenac Heights Road, Stockbridge, to John R. and Phyllis J. Hathaway, $440,000.

TYRINGHAM Gary F. and Dianne M. Bargatze sold property at 9 Cooper Creek Road, Tyringham, to Glenn and Linda Wilcox, $250,000.

Philip B. Morrison and Julia T. Suor sold property at 25 Jerusalem Road, Tyringham, to Philip B. Morrison, $175,000.

WASHINGTON

Vice President Jonah Sykes and Assistant Vice President Brian Andrews were re-elected to the board, while Joshua Cutler and Charles Walker were newly elected to the board. The PCTV board of directors consists of 13 volunteers who live, work, or are retired from working in Pittsfield.

Sykes is the director of marketing and communications at Berkshire Community College. He has served on the PCTV Sykes Board since 2017.

Andrews is a nationally certified paramedic and president and CEO of County Ambulance, Inc. in Pittsfield, which provides paramedic-level ambulance and service to the Berkshire County area. He was Andrews first elected to the PCTV board in 2018, and chairs the equipment and facilities committee.

Cutler is a fourth-generation Pittsfield native who serves as the manufacturing project lead/program performance analyst at Cutler General Dynamics Mission Systems in Pittsfield. He has previously served on the Pittsfield School Committee.

PEOPLE, Page 23

“The key is not in spending time, but in investing in it.”

Stephen R. Covey, author

Matthew J. Kelly, personal rep. of Sharon Marie Thomas, sold property at 58 Luce Road, Williamstown, to Ellies Holdings LLC, $175,000.

Leonard A. and Ling Ming Poliandro sold property at 211 South Hemlock Lane, Williamstown, to Michael L. and Patricia R. Swartz, $310,000.

Michael S. and Christine L. Witkowski sold property at 170 Sand Springs Road, Williamstown, to MAZ Properties LLC, $435,000.

160 Water LLC sold property at 160 Water St., Unit 210, Williamstown, to Mark Carter, $550,000.

Lindsey Kurowski sold property at 20 Forest Road, Williamstown, to Thomas and Katherine Frederickson, $689,000.

Troy and Laura Jones Kobrin sold property at 491 Henderson Road, Williamstown, to Garret E. Peaslee, $1,075,000.

WEST STOCKBRIDGE

FT — Family Trust LLC — Limited Partnership LT — Life Trust NT — Nominee Trust RET — Real Estate Trust RT — Realty Trust RVT — Revocable Trust

Jeffrey Fogelson and Janet Fogelson sold property at Pixley Hill Road, West Stockbridge, to James H. Shim-

ence in project management and leadership in the biopharmaceutical industry working with small and medium sized businesses as well as start-ups. She has been visiting Kripalu for McKenzie over 20 years and looks forward to supporting the organization in helping people and communities to realize their full potential through the practice of yoga.

Pittsfield Community Television elected board members recently at its 36th annual meeting, which took place at the Polish Falcons Club in Pittsfield.

Bette Craig Portz, trustee of the Bette Craig Portz RVT 2019, sold property at 310 New Ashford Road, Williamstown, to Wayne Olivieri, $72,000.

Donna L. Riley, trustee of Riley NT, sold property at 55 Hill Province Road, Williamstown, to Edward G. and Gloria R. Benedict, $645,000.

William Boudreau, personal rep. of the Estate of Audrey Marie Boudreau, sold property at 34 West Center Road, West Stockbridge, to Joel W. Hotchkiss, Sandra J. Hotchkiss and Nicholas S. Garrett, $385,000.

Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health has appointed five new members to its board of trustees: Shirronda Almeida; Monica Singh Avram; Mary Egan; Matthew Lyons and Sara McKenzie.

Almeida is the director of the Mel King Institute for Community Building at the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations. A Reiki Master and registered yoga instructor, Almeida looks Almeida forward to supporting the efforts to bring Kripalu’s benefits to more vulnerable communities.

Singh Avram is an accomplished legal expert with nearly two decades of progressive experience at top law firms and corporations. She values yoga and meditation as anchors in her life and has found Kripalu to be a Avram sacred place for healing and reflection. She is passionate about Kripalu’s focus to increase the accessibility of its offerings.

Egan is a seasoned strategist and entrepreneur, with nearly three decades of experience driving growth for consumer businesses.

She visited Kripalu for the first time more than Egan 30 years ago and wholeheartedly supports its mission.

Lyons transitioned from a long career in political and government relations to yoga and mindfulness practices and is a dedicated yoga instructor with a diverse range of training. He first discovered Kripalu Lyons in 2017, and he is enthusiastic about contributing to its mission and expanding its offerings to even more people.

McKenzie brings decades of experi-

WILLIAMSTOWN

Donald F. Kruck, personal rep. of the Estate of Janice C. Kruck, sold property at 509 Washington Mountain Road, Washington, to Melissa and Mikaila Kruck, $200,000.

Stanley B. Gibson and W. Charles Gibson, trustees of Birch Hill Realty Trust, sold property at 33 Birch Hill Road, West Stockbridge, to David A. Vogel and Julia A. Vogel, $719,000.

December 2023

The real estate transactions are provided by the Middle Berkshire, North Berkshire and South Berkshire Registry of Deeds offices.

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December 2023

Berkshire Business Journal

People FROM PAGE22

Walker is a broadcast television and digital media content producer with more than 45 years of experience.

He spent more than 35 years at Disney/ABC News before retiring. He lives in Pittsfield.

Walker

Kim Baker, Brian Berkel and Julia Dixon have joined the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires’ board of directors.

Baker is a senior account executive at the Toole Insurance Agency helping businesses and nonprofits understand their risks. She is a graduate of Michigan State University and a certified worker compensation Baker advisor. Baker has over 20 years of board leadership experience with a variety of organizations including Berkshire Business & Professional Women, United Cerebral Palsy, Berkshire County Kids’ Place and Berkshire Family and Individual Resources.

Berkel retired from the Massachusetts State Police as a detective lieutenant in 2021. During his 25-year career, he was involved with various local nonprofit organizations and volunteered as a mentor to at-risk Berkel youth through Big Brothers of Berkshire County and 18 Degrees.

Affiliated with the Berkshire Coalition for Suicide Prevention since 2009, he currently serves as its board president. He also

serves as the treasurer of the board of Berkshire HorseWorks and for the Pittsfield Lions Club.

Dixon is a cultural and strategic planning consultant, educator, writer, and artist based in North Adams. She is an expert in rural creative economy strategy and is an adjunct professor in the Fine and Performing Arts DepartDixon ment at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. She has also served as managing director of Berkshire Creative, as a creative economy specialist at 1Berkshire and as a member of the BerkShares board of directors, North Adams Makers’ Mill founding board, Berkshire Cultural Resource Center advisory board, and North Adams Cultural District core group. She has chaired the North Adams Public Arts Commission.

Lucas Griswold has been appointed to the newly created position of senior manager of interpretation and education at Chesterwood.

Griswold holds a bachelor of arts degree in archaeology from Boston University and master of arts degree in arts and heritage management, education, and policy from Maastricht University Griswold in The Netherlands.

He has led guide staff at the Society of King’s Chapel, Boston; Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site; the Department of Conservation & Recreation on the Boston Harbor Islands; and Old South Meeting House Museum & Historic Site.

Griswold has been certified as an interpretive guide by the National Association of Interpretation, and is the co-coordinator of

23

the American Chapter of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies.

Dr. Yi-Lo Yu has joined the medical staff at Community Health Programs Barrington OB/ GYN. She practiced most recently as an OB/GYN hospitalist at Mercy Medical Center in Springfield and Heywood Hospital in Gardner.

Yu has practiced as a Yu generalist, specializing in minimally invasive surgery, at Holyoke Medical Group Women’s Services and RiverBend Medical Group in the Greater Springfield area. She has also served as adjunct faculty at Quinnipiac University, New England Medical School, and Baystate/ Tufts Medical School.

A graduate of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Yu completed her residency at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Amy Godfrey, of Adams, has purchased AH&M, a global business-to-business agency based in Pittsfield, following the retirement of co-founder Jim Allison.

Godfrey, who has served Godfrey as the company’s president and CEO for three years, will continue to operate the agency as AH&M, which specializes in providing services to industrial and technology markets. AH&M, which counts Sabic among its clients, is celebrating its Allison 35th anniversary this year.

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Based in the Berkshires

Godfrey has over 23 years of experience working with leading plastics and chemical suppliers and other top multinationals across the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Since joining AH&M as an account coordinator in 2000, she has held several positions of increasing responsibility and led many of the agency’s key accounts.

She specializes in a broad and growing range of communications strategies, platforms and services that support AH&M’s global clients including media relations, digital marketing, marketing communications, branding, executive positioning, speaker programs, event management, content development, advertising and employee engagement. She is also experienced in providing strategic communications planning and managing internal and external team.

Shane Miner, who grew up in West Stockbridge and graduated from Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington, has been appointed chief operating officer of GBH, a Boston-based firm that is Miner the leading multiplatform creator for public media in America.

In this role, Miner will assume responsibility for GBH’s day-to-day operations, including finance, legal, sponsorship, membership, human resources and technology.

Miner started at GBH in 2014 as the senior director of media technology and has served as the company’s chief technology officer for the last four years.

He came to GBH from Nebraska Public Media, where he served as the IT director.

Previously, Miner worked in academia teaching and working with technology. He holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of South Dakota.

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Berkshire Business Journal

December 2023