Greylock moving into a larger branch in Lee

By Tony DoBrowolski

PITTSFIELD — Greylock Federal Credit Union has 14 branches, but none have grown as fast as the one in Lee.

Membership has doubled in Lee during the past decade, and because of that Greylock has outgrown its branch at 47 Main St.

So Greylock is moving a short distance to a roomier building at 43 Park St.

The county’s largest credit union is spending $2.2 million to purchase and renovate its new address, which most recently was a branch office for New York state-based Trustco Bank. Greylock paid $950,000 to purchase the building from its previous owner, a limited liability company from West Springfield that had owned the property since 2004 and began leasing it to Trustco in 2007. Before it was a bank, it was a doughnut shop.

The sale closed Jan. 30, according to documents filed at the Middle Berkshire Registry of Deeds. The building is scheduled to reopen as a full-service branch in late 2023. The current branch will stay open until then.

“What we need right now is to see 40 [percent] to 50 percent of the total raised in the next several months so we can start fixing the fences and stabilize the buildings,” Knisely said. “Money is needed to begin to show what this place can look like.”

Unpaid local property taxes covering the years 2019 through 2023 total nearly $120,000, according to town records, as well as close to $8,000 in unpaid sewer and water fees. The nonprofit also has a $150,000 mortgage to pay off.

Knisely pointed out that without the gift from the Sprague Family Trust and the formation of the nonprofit, “the likely result was fated to be a public auction and subsequent housing development on the property zoned for five new homes.”

“What scared us is that the property was already zoned for homes, and I don’t think there would have been any way to stop it,” he said.

Even with the gift, Knisely said, the property might be developed.

“It does, though, give us sufficient breathing room to totally protect this great asset, if we can pay off the debt and the taxes. Then, if we can raise the $1 million, we can stabilize and move on to restoration.”

A three-year payment plan for the real estate taxes is being worked out, HomeFarm Executive Director Lori Pestana stated in a letter to the Board of Assessors. The sewer and water fees would be paid off by the end of this month.

“It is the intention of HomeFarm at Undermountain to not only save this historic property from the threat of foreclosure and development but also to repair and restore the buildings and land from years of neglect,” Pestana wrote.

“This important source of pleasure to the neighbors, townspeople and visitors was very close to being history — only enjoyed by perusing photo books in the Lenox Library,” Knisely wrote in an email to some community members.

He credited “the generous gift” to the nonprofit from Tjasa Sprague, who is now stepping back from a leadership role to become one of the board directors for HomeFarm at Undermountain.

Pestana and Danica Keena will continue to manage and operate the farm and equestrian center, supervised by the board of directors, which will be expanded to nine members. Knisely wrote that he would remain as interim chair “until an established community leader assumes that role.”

Knisely said he is seeking recommendations to fill out the board. After names of potential members are gathered, recruitment and selection will follow. Then the board will appoint its chair.

The nonprofit is actively seeking donations.

“We look forward to the near future when HomeFarm will be a great community resource for community health, land conservation, historical preservation, and the arts,” Knisely said.

Nearby resident Jonas Dovydenas welcomed the nonprofit’s plans, saying he’s glad to see a scenic piece of Lenox protected along the byway to Tanglewood from Cliffwood Street through Undermountain Road.

“It’s all good, but it’s hard to raise money for all that,” he said, adding he has offered to join the board of directors for HomeFarm at Undermountain. “It’s an important piece of property that should be preserved properly, and I think a horse farm is the right way to go.”

“It’s much more accessible,” Greylock’s President and CEO John Bissell said. “It’s still in the center of Lee. We wanted a drive-in window, and it already had one in it. We also wanted a branch that could be accessible by foot and by car and that allows for community meeting space.”

Greylock’s branch on Main Street has no drive-in window and only 900 square feet. The new branch is more 2,465-square feet.

“In our old space we could only fit about five employees,” Bissell said. “The new one can have eight to 10 employees as well as a meeting room that can accommodate up to 12 people.”

Greylock has operated a branch in Lee since 1998.

“It was an historic branch that was relatively useful for transactions,” Bissell said, “but for building relationships, we need more space.”

The community room will be used partly for Greylock’s financial-literacy programs, which the credit union started several years ago to provide services to members who live in low-income areas that have traditionally been underserved by financial institutions.

Greylock’s $4.5 million renovation of its branch on Kellogg Street in Pittsfield’s Morningside neighborhood in 2019 included the establishment of a community-empowerment center.

Bissell said the community space in the new Lee branch is being created “in the same spirit” as the one on Kellogg Street but “it won’t be as large.” It will be more similar to the space that Greylock provides for those services at its branch in Hudson, N.Y.

“We’ve seen how successful those locations are as a hub for financial education and community engagement,” he said.

Deposits in Lee have also grown faster for Greylock than at any other branch, Bissell said, having increased by $16 million between June 2020 and June 2022, according to figures supplied by the credit union.

“Our model is really based around financial inclusion,” Bissell said. “Around the county, especially in Lee, we’ve worked to be engaging to the immigrant community. That’s a big part of our growth in many locations, especially in Lee.”

Tony Dobrowolski can be reached at tdobrowolski@ berkshireeagle.com or 413-496-6224.