Berkshire Business Journal March 2024

Berkshire Business Journal

Homeward bound

By Jim T herrien

PITTSFIELD — Greylock Federal Credit Union’s community approach to lending has followed a natural progression toward helping minority applicants pursue their dreams of home ownership.

“Forever, we were a financial cooperative,” said Greylock President and CEO John Bissell. “We’re not-for-profit, and our job is to provide access to financial services for the whole community. And we are especially focused on people who aren’t well-served through traditional banking services.”

That approach dates to the Great Depression with General Electric employees, he said, after the institution formed in 1935 as the Pittsfield G.E. Employees Credit Union to assist employees in saving and with low-cost loans.

As GE’s presence in Pittsfield waned during the 1990s, the institution was renamed the Greylock Federal Credit Union, and has since expanded its membership range to include all of Berkshire County and beyond.

“We just keep looking at what is happening in the community,” Bissell said, “and how can we respond to what the needs

are. And as the community has changed, our product shelf has changed with it.”

Today, Greylock has just over 100,000 members, having reached that milestone in 2023, and has 14 locations throughout Berkshire County and Hudson, N.Y., with a total of 340 employees.

THE UNDERSERVED

In 2013-14, Bissell said, “we recognized we needed to do a much better job of addressing the needs of the new Americans immigrating here from Central and South America, West Africa, Eastern Europe, and people

in the Black community that have been here for generations.”

He said Greylock Federal received CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution) certification through the U.S. Treasury Department in 2015, which allowed the credit union to, in a sense, look in a mirror, as well as offer expanded services to low- and moderate-income families.

“That brought us into deep contact with our own data,” Bissell said. “Who are we, who are we lending to, and how are we filling gaps that exist.

“These were the demograph-

ics that we had not been doing a good job of delivering for,” he said, referring to minority groups. “And we were not happy with what we saw. Frankly, we knew that we could do a better job of helping people achieve home ownership especially.”

PROGRAMS LAUNCHED

“In 2016, we really thought about how we were making an impact within the community,” said Jodi Rathbun-Briggs, senior vice president and chief lending officer at Greylock. “And we formally launched

BEN GARVER

Front pages

Berkshire Busk! a permanent fixture?

Founder thinks Great Barrington weekend festival has staying power

By John Townes

GREAT BARRINGTON — While the warm days of summer may seem far off, the organizers of Berkshire Busk!! are already planning for their fourth season of bringing live free entertainment to the streets of downtown Great Barrington.

Berkshire Busk! was launched in 2021. It’s been held on weekend evenings from July 4 weekend through Labor Day, but this summer the first Berkshire Busk! is scheduled for June 28.

Berkshire Busk! is a nonprofit, community-based initiative with a 13-member board of advisers. It operates with fiscal sponsorship of the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires.

Eugene Carr, founder and festival director, said the Berkshire Busk! has grown each year, with steadily increased public recog-

nition and attendance.

He believes it now has the potential to become a permanent annual tradition in the town. “I didn’t know what to expect when we started this,’ he said. “But the third season last year seemed like it was a tipping point.”

Currently, he said, the goal is to bolster Berkshire Busk! on an organizational and financial basis.

“We’d like to develop a solid financial base rather than starting from Square 1 every year to raise funds for the upcoming season,” he said. “I’ve been meeting with donors and officials to create a pathway for that.”

The purpose of Berkshire Busk! is both to enliven the town with entertainment and serve as an economic development vehicle to stimulate shopping, dining and other spending at local businesses.

It features musicians, dancers, spoken word performers, jugglers and others of diverse ages, genres and skill levels performing as buskers on the sidewalks, streets and other public spaces. All activities are free to the public.

Last summer, it featured about 100 groups and more than 300 individuals as performers. Berkshire Busk! pays a $100 stipend to groups or individual buskers. The buskers can also set up a tip jar to earn additional money during their performances.

In 2022, a street vendor fair was added. In 2023, an average of 10-to-15 vendors participated. Nonprofit community groups are also given the opportunity to have a free booth to publicize their activities.

Carr works as festival director on a volunteer basis.

For Sale: Business/Medical Office Pittsfield

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PHOTO PROVIDED BY BERKSHIRE BUSK!

Wacky Chad, who is known for his pogo stick tricks, performs during a Berkshire Busk! event in Great Barrington. The festival, held on summer weekends, has grown each year, with steadily increasing public recognition and attendance.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY BERKSHIRE BUSK! A musician performs on Main Street in Great Barrington as part of the Berkshire Busk! festival back in 2021. This year’s festival kicks off the weekend of June 28. BERKSHIRE BUSK!, Page 14

Business updates

Local Farmer Awards help promote agriculture

Farmers in Western Massachusetts are invited to apply for Local Farmer Awards of up to $2,500. Awards are given for capital/infrastructure improvement projects related to planting, growing, harvesting and processing that will help farms compete in the marketplace.

The Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation, in partnership with Big Y and the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture along with the support of other funders, is entering the 10th year of the awards program. The Three County Fair is a new addition to the group of funders this year.

To be eligible, farms must have gross sales of $10,000 and be located in Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin or Berkshire County. For a full list of eligibility requirements and application information, visit farmerawards.org.

The application deadline is Jan. 31. Richmond equine ranch lands education grants

Berkshire HorseWorks Inc., a nonprofit offering equine-assisted educational and therapeutic activities, has secured two grants totaling $2,000 to support local schools in Berkshire County with social-emotional learning and academic support.

A $500 grant from the Richmond Educational Enrichment Fund of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation will provide third-graders from Richmond Consolidated School with a day of experiential equine-assisted learning and team building at the 7-acre ranch, which will complement existing life skills programming in the classroom.

The second grant for $1,500 from Berkshire Bank will provide the Horse-Powered Reading program to at-risk children from the Pittsfield Public Schools who have demonstrated a below-average reading score.

The eight-week strength-based, experiential program uses horses in ground-based metaphorical activities in the arena to complement existing school-based learning.

Call 413-698-3700 or email info@ berkshirehorseworks.com for more information.

LEE Bank awards $46K to local organizations

Lee Bank Foundation has awarded $46,300 to 10 Berkshire area organizations for their final round of 2023 community funding. Recipients were awarded grants ranging from $1,000 to $7,500 to support their local programming.

The following organizations received funding: 18 Degrees; Barrington Stage Company; Berkshire Agricultural Ventures; Berkshire Community Action Council; Berkshire Grown; Berkshire Immigrant Center; Berkshire Innova-

tion Center; Construct; EforAll; and WAM Theatre.

The deadline to apply for the first round of 2024 foundation funding is March 1. The application and more information can be found on the Community Impact section of Lee Bank’s website, leebank.com or at tinyurl. com/2p8pvfe4.

To be considered for grant awards, applicants must be a (501)©(3) nonprofit organization.

More PCTV programs offer closed captioning

Pittsfield Community Television has extended closed captioning coverage to include all locally produced studio programming.

The expansion includes programming such as “Berkshire Matters,” “Berkshire Senior Television,” “Berkshire Health Program,” “Your Italian & Irish Heritage,” “Know Your Berkshires,” the television simulcast of WTBR’s “Morning Drive” and more.

Last year, PCTV began offering closed captioning on local government and school meetings and live sports coverage, and through an FCC complaint, successfully compelled Charter Communications to carry the captioning on the PCTV cable channels.

Closed captioning of PCTV programs can be viewed on Access Pittsfield channel 1301, ETV channel 1302, and CityLink channel 1303. Captioning is also available on PCTV Select and on-demand on Pittsfieldtv.org.

Cultural Council backs arts programming

The Great Barrington Cultural Council has awarded 19 grants to support a wide range of arts and cultural programs/events with awards ranging from $250 to $500 for a total of $7,036.

Grants were awarded to the following: Bernice Lewis, History Alive; Shakespeare & Company, 2024 Fall Festival; Berkshire Music School, Willie Was Different; Berkshire Pulse, Dances of Africa; Blue Rider Stables, Blue Rider Circus Student Showcase; Flying Cloud Institute, S-M-Art Lab; Greenagers Education & Stewardship; Nutshell Playhouse, Nutshell Playhouse at Pulse; and Triplex Cinema, “TILL” and Spring Teen Film Festival.

Also, Costello Astronomy Lecture, “A Talk About The Universe”; Festival Latino of the Berkshires; Music Dance Edu, Hip Hop Chair Dance for Seniors; Second Nature Arts, Stitched Stories; Stockbridge Sinfonia; Baseball in The Berkshires, “Take Me Out to Berkshire Baseball”; Center for Peace and Culture, Legacies Exhibit; Great Barrington Public Theater, Berkshire Voices Reading Series; and IS183 Professional Development for BHRSD educators.

The Great Barrington Cultural Council awards grants to organizations and individuals for the presentation of quality programs in the humanities, sciences and the arts.

Applications for 2025 will be available in the fall. For more information, visit massculturalcouncil.org.

Berkshire Museum offers

STEAM activities for kids

The Berkshire Museum will bring programming to families with preschool-aged children through the Museum’s WeeMuse STEAM program at no cost.

The WeeMuse STEAM program runs Wednesdays, March 13 and 27, April 10 and 24, and May 8 and 22, in Berkshire Museum’s second-floor classroom spaces.

The program follows a theme-based approach where families engage in a variety of activities at five discovery stations, each representing Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. Each discovery station will include clear directions and a “What my child is learning” section. Families will receive a take-home packet at the end of each session with extension activities they can do at home.

The program is in collaboration with Berkshire County Head Start and in partnership with a Pittsfield Coordinated Family and Community Engagement grant funded by the Department of Early Education and Care.

MountainOne Insurance opens Stockbridge office

MountainOne Insurance Agency has expanded into the Southern Berkshire market with the opening of its newest office at 31 Main St.

The new location is the site of the former Minkler Insurance Agency, which sits across from the Red Lion Inn and adjacent to The Lost Lamb Patisserie/Snackerie.

Two veteran insurance professionals, Tim Minkler and Libby Peyron, have been appointed to the agency, remaining in their office space where they can continue to serve the Stockbridge community.

“We are excited to welcome Tim and Libby as our newest Mountaineers,” said Jonathan Denmark, president

and COO of MountainOne Insurance.

“Their vast experience and deep industry knowledge will be a great asset to our customers and to MountainOne.”

MountainOne Insurance is the largest agency headquartered in the Berkshires in terms of clients under management, and with this expansion now employs over 60 people across seven locations throughout Berkshire County and the Pioneer Valley.

For information about MountainOne Insurance Agency, visit mountainone. com/insurance.

Local first responders resume crisis training

Crisis intervention training for law enforcement and first responders has resumed in Berkshire County after a pandemic-imposed hiatus.

The first iteration of the training is taking place through Wednesday at Berkshire Community College, with 30 law enforcement officers from across the county participating.

The 40-hour program, based on the Memphis model, is built upon community partnership of law enforcement, mental health and substance use professionals, individuals who live with mental illness and/or substance use disorders, their families, and other advocates.

The training aims to educate law enforcement about mental health conditions and how they present, de-escalation techniques, resources available for individuals in crisis, and how to keep everyone involved safe.

NAMI Berkshire County is supporting this initiative under the leadership of Officer Cindy Boyle of the South Hadley Police Department and Western Massachusetts Technical and Training Assistance Center. Boyle is a Dalton native.

For information, visit NAMIBC.org, email namibc@namibc.org or call 413443-1666.

The national suicide prevention and crisis lifeline is available by phone at 988 or text TALK to 741741.

BUSINESS UPDATES, Page 4

2nd Street organization receives $300K grant

2nd Street Second Chances has received a Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Program grant of $300,000 for 2024.

The grant money from the commonwealth’s Executive Office of Economic Development will support the cost of current staff salaries and cover the cost of hiring of two more community resource navigators for the first six months of 2024, according to 2nd Street President Mark Gold.

Community resource navigators connect with formerly incarcerated peole to assess their needs and to provide access to a wide range of services and referrals, including medical and mental health services, substance use treatment, financial resources, transportation, housing, job training and employment, legal services, and more. Navigators work with each client to develop an individualized reentry plan.

This is 2nd Street’s third CERP grant. Assuming 2nd Street meets the criteria of the grant, the state may offer grant renewals for 2025 and 2026, Gold said.

The commonwealth’s Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Program was developed to support communities with high rates of criminal justice system involvement, widespread poverty and large groups of disadvantaged and underrepresented populations.

Now in its third year, the program saw its most competitive

grant funding round yet, with 140 applications received.

Becket lands $8,200 in cultural grants

The town has been awarded grants totaling $8,200 for wide ranging arts, humanities and science projects for the 2024 calendar year, according to state Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli and Cathy Terwedow, chair of the Becket Cultural Council

All told, the town received 14 grants for the following programs: Becket Arts Center, Music Brings Communities Together and Community Mosaic Public Arts Project; Becket Athenaeum, museum passes program and community performances; Becket Beat for local journalism; Becket Police Association, holiday party; and Becket Washington School, Interactive Science Exploration.

Also, Berkshire Music School, Willie was Different: A Musical Enrichment Program; Berkshire Pulse, Intro to Dance for PE in Nessacus Middle School; Jodi Hostetter, Music in the Park; Berkshire Art Center, Artcentric after-school program; Nutshell Playhouse Inc., Nutshell Playhouse at the Becket Arts Center; town of Washington, Family Fun Day; and Lara Tupper, Pick Up the Pen: Start Your Writing Project.

The Becket Cultural Council will seek applications in the fall for 2025 grants. Guidelines and complete information will be available at massculturalcouncil.org.

For information about the Becket Cultural Council, email

becketculturalcouncil@townofbecket.org.

Morningside school lands science grant

Morningside Community School has been awarded a STARS (Students and Teachers working with Artists, Scientists and Scholars) Residencies grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council to conduct a multidisciplinary science residency with Flying Cloud Institute.

Teaching artist Angel Heffernan will work with 50 fourth grade students over the course of a week at the school. Students will undergo a handson learning experience that covers four of their grade-specific physical science energy standards through dynamic movement, investigative science and art making.

A total of $1,502,450, awarded to 299 recipients, will place teaching artists, scientists and humanists into schools, bringing cultural enrichment to more than 32,000 Massachusetts students. Awards range from $2,500 to $6,100.

A complete funding list and project descriptions for the program is available at tinyurl. com/eh449r6x.

BCArc to house men with brain injuries

Berkshire County Arc has received a $250,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank to help offset the cost of building a new home in Southhampton to give new lives to four men with brain injuries.

“This program is part of a statewide effort to move people with brain injuries into communities to live more independent-

ly,” said BCArc President and CEO Maryann Hyatt.

BCArc runs 43 residential programs in Western Massachusetts supporting individuals with brain injuries and development disabilities, along with numerous other programs, employing 800 people and supporting more than 1,000 people with disabilities.

Behavioral health center marks year of operation

The Brien Center’s Community Behavioral Health Center celebrated one year of operation as of Jan. 3 and has seen approximately 1,235 community members in its first year.

The program was established as part of the “Roadmap for Behavioral Health Reform,” a new bill approved by the Massachusetts state legislature which helps people get behavioral health services when and where they need it.

The goal is to end “boarding” in emergency departments where people in crisis wait for care. These changes have begun to address the disparity in behavioral health care.

Located at 334 Fenn St., the center provides same-day crisis assessments, urgent care visits and medication services for anyone in Massachusetts that may be experiencing a mental health emergency whatever their health insurance.

Anyone experiencing a crisis can walk into the center or call for a mobile community response team to come to their location enabling immediate health care for both youth and adults. In addition, a 24/7 crisis line is available by calling 1-800252-0227.

Big Y Foods opening stores in Conn., Mass.

Big Y Foods has reached an agreement to acquire the leasehold interests for three supermarket locations within its marketing area. These locations are in Westport and Brookfield, Conn., and Westborough.

Each location has been scrutinized by Big Y teams in order to assess how soon they can take over these spaces to convert and remodel them into Big Y supermarkets, which could start within four to six months depending upon equipment lead times.

These new locations tie in with Big Y’s current growth strategy which includes a new supermarket currently under construction in Middletown, Conn., and one that is planned for Uxbridge. In all, these locations will bring Big Y’s total number of supermarkets to 77 stores.

Big Y is also acquiring a gas and convenience store in North Haven, Conn., across the street from the Big Y supermarket there, which would mark its 18th Big Y Express.

Big Y Foods is one of the largest independently owned supermarket chains in New England. It operates locations throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut including supermarkets, Table & Vine Fine Wines and Liquors and Big Y Express gas and convenience locations with over 10,000 employees.

Based in Springfield, Big Y operates Berkshire County markets in Great Barrington, Lee, North Adams and Pittsfield and gasoline/convenience store locations in Lee and Pittsfield.

Triplex feature: popcorn chicken (and more)

By H eat H er Bellow

GREAT BARRINGTON — While he’s been busy trying to help solve the workforce housing crisis, Josh Irwin has also been “sniffing around” for a new place and concept to do what he does.

That’s cooking and feeding people. And making softserve ice cream.

But the main attraction at the longtime chef and restauranteur’s new takeout venture — Juju’s — will be something new: popcorn-sized fried chicken. (Also fried vegetables, and hearty salads into which the fried things can be tossed.)

Irwin says he was looking for just the right place and he found it at the Triplex Cinema’s adjacent storefront.

The wall between the two will be removed so that people can bring the food into the movie theater. Or people can take the food outside to the patio — or wherever.

“It’s a fast, casual concept,” Irwin said, “which has been pretty successful — not around here but everywhere else.”

Example? “Chipotle is the ultimate fast, casual,” he said of the chain (there’s one in Pittsfield).

He’s aiming for a May opening. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. (“hopefully”) five days a week.

Irwin and his wife Emily Irwin formerly — famously — founded Cantina 229 in New Marlborough in 2015 next to their home and farm.

Now they are committed Great Barrington downtowners. They closed Cantina last January and moved the family into a downtown apartment. Now everything they own is a quick walk away.

With renowned cocktail-maker Billy Jack Paul they co-own Mooncloud, a bar and lounge at the top of

Railroad Street. And Emily Irwin owns Home Love, a Railroad Street decor and gift shop that her husband says is thriving.

Josh Irwin knows all-toowell about the housing crisis — having struggled to find workers. He also helped open a boardinghouse in the former Windflower Inn — also thriving — and has since joined the board of housing nonprofit, Construct Inc., which bought the inn and manages the boardinghouse.

Juju’s will be in the 550-square-foot storefront that faces the Triplex lot — across the outdoor seating area from Momma Lo’s Southern Style BBQ and El Punto Del Encuentro Latin Market.

Irwin says he’ll install a takeout window for the soft-serve pickup, and give

patrons buzzers to let them know when their orders are ready. The food will be placed in a bag and on a tray.

Also on the menu, so far, will be a homemade mint iced tea and lemongrass lemonade. Other drinks can be purchased in the Triplex lobby.

This is the wise way forward for him, he said, in what is a challenging economic landscape for restaurants.

“This really felt like a proper system to be able to achieve the goals of mine, which were really good, delicious, tasty food, not too expensive and not needing 20 employees.”

This is where machines are helpful. “We’re investing an enormous amount in equipment to make sure that this can be run with two or three people,” Irwin said. “This is my way of continu-

ing to feed people.”

The leaders of the new Triplex nonprofit that now owns the movie house are also thrilled as they work on creating a place where people do more than just share a movie together. The theater changed hands last summer.

“Having Josh in the building is great not only because of his energy and proven ability to create fun spaces with great food and drink,” said Triplex treasurer Sam Handel, “but also because right from the jump, he has been an enthusiastic supporter who agrees that a vibrant Triplex helps create a vibrant downtown.”

Irwin isn’t stopping with Juju’s. He’s also partnering on a pop-up cooking venture called “After Hours” with former Cantina cooks, Kevin Kelly, Lisa Ake and Nik Rhodes.

It’s “Berkshire County’s newest roving kitchen,” says After Hours’ Instagram profile.

The business can do any kind of pop-up event, small or large. And it’s creation is the result of local restaurant economics.

He said Kelly, Ake and Rhodes are three “young cooks” who were dangerously close to leaving the Berkshires for culinary cities like Washington, Nashville or Denver. After crunching numbers, Irwin and the three found it was too expensive to open their own restaurant here.

“But they want to keep learning — they want to be bada — chefs,” Irwin said. “So I told these guys, how do we keep you here — because this is the problem: the creators are going to keep leaving if we don’t have opportunities for them.”

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STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN

The Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington. To the left is the adjacent space that will be leased by Josh Irwin for his takeout eatery Juju’s.

PHOTO BY NICKI WILSON

Josh Irwin, right, gets the keys to The Triplex Cinema from Triplex Treasurer Sam Handel. Irwin is preparing to renovate the attached storefront and turn it into Juju’s, a casual fast food takeout restaurant.

75 years of art supplies, framing

By Jane K aufman

PITTSFIELD — Among the easels, drafting tables, oil pastels and paint-by-number kits at Miller Supply, there’s an oddly shaped mass of gray metal, slightly larger than a bread box, tucked among papers on a top shelf.

Miller Supply founder George Miller picked up that Norden bombsight for $25 in the 1960s. When he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, he had the unassuming title of mess kit repair.

Cpl. Miller’s top-secret job was to repair the Norden bombsight, the device that guided B-17s and other high-altitude bombers to their targets during World War II. Thus, that particular relic.

Now owned by his son, Steve Miller, 71, the store at 205 West St. has been in business in Pittsfield for 75 years, with its future uncertain as he mulls retirement. It opened in 1949 on First Street, just a few years after George Miller returned from his service. Today, it’s the largest art supply and picture framing store in the tri-state area.

FINDING PITTSFIELD

During training in the 1940s, an Army buddy introduced a then-single George Miller to his sister, Sally Ruth Leibowitz, who followed him to Odessa, Texas, to get married. He then shipped out to London and she returned to New York City. When he returned, the couple first moved to his native South Dakota to work in two family businesses, liquor and oil.

“My mother being from the Bronx, it was like culture shock,” Steve Miller told The Eagle. “She was miserable.”

The businesses were sold and

the couple headed to Mexico for a vacation. There, Sally Ruth Miller told her husband she didn’t need to live in New York, but she wanted to live within easy driving distance. They looked on a map, took a spin and landed in Pittsfield in 1948.

George tried insurance first and later took a job with Sam Carr, at Carr Hardware on North Street. They lived in a large house on the corner of Pomeroy Avenue and East Housatonic Street and rented out their spare room.

FOUNDING MILLER SUPPLY

At the time, Carr Hardware sold just one item of Ox Line Paints. A traveling salesman and frequent boarder asked George Miller if he’d open a paint store showcasing the whole line. Ox Line Paints, the man assured him, would help him set up shop, backing him monetarily.

George Miller agreed, opening the first Miller Supply at 23 First St. in 1949. Then, in 1952, the Colonial Theatre went to auction. George and Sally Ruth Miller were among four bidders.

Theirs was the lowest offer, but George Miller promised the seller he would not tear the theater down. That sealed the deal, and Miller Supply relocated one-third of a mile from First Street to the theater on Pittsfield’s busiest block.

“To accommodate a retail paint and art supply business, the orchestra floor was leveled and a drop ceiling was added, concealing — and preserving — the balconies and elaborate architectural details,” according to the history of the Colonial Theatre on the Berkshire Theatre Group’s web page.

THE COLONIAL YEARS

As a child, Steve Miller found going into the unlit areas of the theater a bit eerie. One of his earliest memories is poking holes in wall paper samples that had just been hung by longtime employee Joan Beach.

As a teenager, he began working in the store.

On Super Bowl Sunday 1968, an electrical fire started in an apartment attached to the Colonial. A barber in the building called the fire department.

With its inventory of flammable paint, had it gone undetected, “the building would have exploded,” Steve Miller said.

While at the Colonial, Stockbridge’s most famous illustrator, Norman Rockwell, chose to use Miller Supply to frame his works, and the store became a destination for artists and collectors.

When Sally Ruth Miller died in 1969, George Miller put Steve

Miller’s name on all ownership documents. He was then 17. After graduating from Pittsfield High School in 1970, Miller went to the University of Massachusetts where he first studied math and ended up majoring in management and marketing at its business school. He worked at Miller Supply summers. After graduation, he came back to Pittsfield.

“I certainly was running the store by the time I got out of college,” Miller recalled, adding that he expected to work alongside his father, but George Miller stepped aside to let him take the reins.

In 1997, state Rep. Andrea Nuciforo announced $2.5 million was available to help restore the theater, but it was a 1998 visit by then-first lady Hillary Clinton that accelerated efforts to do so.

In 2001, Steve and Amy Miller sold the theater to Colonial Theatre Association for $1.1 million.

“The Miller family is credited by all associated with the theatre for maintaining the structural and decorative integrity of The Colonial Theatre until the community was ready to bring it back into service as a community entertainment center,” the Berkshire Theatre Group’s web page reads.

In hunting for a new location for Miller Supply, Steve Miller hoped to stay on the same block of South Street, noting its high traffic volume both by foot and car.

When he hit upon the old Adams Super Market building at 205 West St., he felt its spaciousness and parking lot might help compensate for the loss of that traffic. He purchased it for $390,000 in 2002.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE

Steve Miller met Amy Ortenberg in high school, although he’d spied her at the piano in junior high orchestra practice. The two married at Temple Anshe Amunim in 1975, where she later became its cantor. They had two daughters, now grown and living out of town. Amy Miller died on June 9.

Neither of Miller’s daughters appears to be interested in running an art supply and framing business in Pittsfield, Steve Miller said.

Near the front of the store, there are reminders of its years and place in Berkshire County: A framed photo by William Teague, a framed poster by Bert Friedman, framed Rockwell prints and a book on a stand chronicling the restoration of the Colonial Theatre, which has a photograph of Steve and Amy Miller in the Colonial when it was Miller Supply.

Through the years, Steve Miller has enjoyed the people he’s met through the business. Although he’s been less inclined to befriend his customers than his more gregarious father, that’s started to happen in recent years.

The COVID-19 pandemic took its toll, though Miller never stopped working and opened for the occasional customer who knocked during the mandated shutdown of 2020. While the business used to have five to six employees, today it has four.

Now 71, Steve Miller is not sure of what is in store for Miller Supply.

He said, “It just never occurred to me to retire.”

PHOTOS BY BEN GARVER

Steve Miller, owner of Miller Supply on West Street in Pittsfield.

For 75 years, Miller Supply has been the destination for artists in Pittsfield.

From worship to hospitality Couple pours effort, vision into Hinterland Hall

By Jane K aufman

LANESBOROUGH — Stepping in to the entrance of Hinterland Hall, one is immediately struck by a wrought iron candelabra in the shape of a heart.

Ian Purkayastha and Jane Lowe bought the Old Stone Church for $149,000 in May 2021, and since then have poured their time, savings and their artistic vision into restoring every inch of what had been St. Luke’s Episcopal Church’s summer chapel at 525 N. Main St. on Route 7.

Now the stone building is gleaming from the white oak steeple and cedar shake roof down to the original pine wooden floors, which have been sanded and refinished. What was once a church is now an entertainment space available for weddings, parties, musical performances and overnight guests.

Turning to the left inside the entrance, there’s a curving staircase and a lancet window. That staircase leads to what was the choir loft and is now an open overnight suite with a queen-size bed tucked into the corner. There’s a hand-hewn wooden headboard behind it with a rough-cut edge.

In the center of the loft, one step up leads to a fully enclosed bathroom with a concrete soaking tub surrounded by native bluestone. That’s where the organ used to stand.

Fully restored by Messrs. Czelusniak et Dugal of Northampton, the organ now takes its place in the sanctuary. It is one of the few operable hand-pump organs that has not been electrified.

On the wall at the front of the sanctuary, the couple decided to keep small detailed paintings, reminiscent of calligraphic details one might find in medieval Bibles.

The room was painted pink and dark gray. It is now white, airy, light and open, pregnant with possibility.

A RICH PAST

While St. Luke’s Episcopal congregation was established in 1767, the church was built in 1836 for $3,600 on land given to the parish, according to Hinterland Hall’s website.

The tower was struck by lightning in 1856, and its bell dates to 1891.

In 1858 the congregation commissioned a 450-pipe, handpumped tracker organ constructed from walnut by William Johnson of Westfield. It was installed in 1862.

Two stained glass windows were installed in 1858 and in 1891, and the bell atop the bell tower was purchased and delivered by Meneely Bell Co. from Troy, N.Y., hoisted into position by horse carriage.

The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and underwent restoration at that time.

THE LATEST RESTORATION

Acquiring the building took some time. Lowe and Purkayastha put in their proposal to the Massachusetts Historical Commission in August 2020, where it was reviewed alongside others.

“A lot of people were just wanting to get the space and subdivide it into different rooms,” Pur-

kayastha said. With a total restoration costing just under $1 million, Purkayastha and Lowe are eligible for tax credits totaling $139,450. To help pay for the project, they took out construction loans.

Lowe and Purkayastha acted as general contractors and hired specialists to restore the building. A total of 150 cut-glass window panes were replaced as part of repairs that also included sills, sashes and glazing.

Lowe credited the work of Edgar Albuja, for carpentry, stone work and tile work as well as well as furniture making, repurposing the original pews into Shaker-style benches that can be more easily moved.

Pointing to the floor, Lowe spoke of the layers that were pulled back to expose the original flooring — lead paint and dark red carpet held by “thousands of carpet nails,” which had to be removed individually by hand. She said the floor was sanded “probably six different times.”

ABOUT LOWE AND PURKAYASTHA

Purkayastha was born in Houston, Texas, and his family moved to northwest Arkansas when he was 15. There he discovered foraging. After graduating from Fayetteville High School, he launched Regalis Foods, which

took him to New York.

Author of “Truffle Boy,” his 2016 memoir, he sells caviar, truffles and foraged mushrooms to “upper echelon restaurants” across the United States.

“I’ve remained in the same space and industry since,” he said. “I became really obsessed with being outside and being in the outdoors. And I love to cook.”

Lowe was born in Doylestown, Pa., and graduated from Central Bucks South High School, in Bucks County. She went to Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., where she fell in love with photography.

After graduating with a bachelor of arts degree, she pursued a Master of Fine Arts degree at Yale, where she studied with Gregory Crewdson. She graduated in May 2020 during the COVID pandemic.

The two met in 2011, connecting on OkCupid just after he migrated east and she was a freshman in college. Prior to meeting, Lowe talked with her roommate about Purkayastha, who happened to have gone to school with him in Houston.

“Because she validated that he’s real, we did go on a date a week later,” Lowe said. “And I guess you say the rest is history.”

FINDING THE BERKSHIRES

Lowe said the simplicity of

the Shaker architecture in Berkshire County reminds her of Bucks County, which was settled by Quakers.

For Purkayastha, the Berkshires landscape “emulated some of that same rural atmosphere of Arkansas.”

They stumbled upon an 8-acre farm in Cheshire that was on the market. The longer they waited, the cheaper it became.

“And so we made the leap in 2015,” Purkayastha said.

“We really felt like the Berkshires was our home,” Lowe said. “We always wanted it to be our home, but New York City was always the kind of pull of where we had to be.”

The pandemic gave them an opportunity to live and work from the farm fulltime.

Since they’ve owned Mason Hill Farm, they’ve operated an Airbnb in a red barn on the property built in 1815.

“We love our guests and everyone’s been really kind,” Lowe said, adding that they’ve been asked about weddings but haven’t wanted to hold them on the property where they live.

THE OLD STONE CHURCH

On a family drive in August 2020, Purkayastha’s mother spotted the church.

“Of course, the church screamed at us when we saw it

was for sale,” Lowe recalled. “We love architecture and history and we love design, and the way it makes you feel in the space.”

On Sept. 4, 2021, the two married in the church while it was under renovation. Two days before, Purkayastha fell through the ceiling in the entrance. He was not hurt but the ceiling had to be patched quickly.

An organist played Lowe’s favorite piece, “Mad Rush,” by Philip Glass, as the processional and they hosted the reception on their farm.

Purkayastha and Lowe own the parcel just north and have demolished a house that was in poor condition to clear space for outdoor celebrations. They’ve also installed a stone patio behind the church and planted a hornbeam hedge on one side and a hydrangea hedge on the other.

With very live acoustics, they’ve already held a concert featuring a violinist and organist. Purkayastha’s business can cater onsite indoors or outside.

“We really wanted to preserve the space and maintain the historic integrity of the building,” Purkayastha said. “There’s not many remaining historic buildings in Lanesborough. We really wanted to bring it back to its former glory and do right by the town and the community.”

PHOTOS BY BEN GARVER

“The church screamed at us when we saw it was for sale,” said Jane Lowe, who with her husband, Ian Purkayastha, have restored the former St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Lanesborough.

The bathroom in the overnight loft sits where the church’s organ used to stand.

The former choir loft is now a guest room at the former Old Stone Church in Lanesborough.

A ‘new form of hospitality’

Sweetgrass Botanicals adds its unique take on cannabis in Lee

By Jane K aufman

LEE — After four years of planning, renovations, and red tape, Sweetgrass Botanicals has opened its doors.

Chef Cassandra Purdy and award-winning hash maker Ben McCabe hope the former Cork N’ Hearth restaurant they transformed into a cannabis shop will become a destination people from the region will flock to.

With a lab set up with $150,000 worth of equipment to process cannabis plants, McCabe will use a state-of-theart ice water extraction method that produces a thick, honey-like rosin that contains nothing but the oils that were in the plant to begin with.

Taking some of the mystery out of the process, customers will be able to see the interior of the lab and all that goes on there through a demonstration window.

In the commercial kitchen redesigned for her production, Purdy will use the rosin McCabe creates to power her edibles. They will include cannabis-infused butter and olive oil, cream cheese frosting, and a bittersweet chocolate ganache. One thing she won’t be making is gummies.

In the dispensary, cannabis flower will be on display with magnifying glasses available for consumers to inspect in a room that has an antique bar as well as an ATM. Art Nouveau posters by Czech painter Alphonse Mucha advertising cigarette papers hang on the wall, along with framed postcards of local scenes. The wallpaper design, called Swedish Forest, features mushrooms, owls and plants.

The main dining room of the former restaurant is now a boutique called the Mercantile and has products associated with the cannabis lifestyle, such as handblown glass pipes, ceramic chillums made by Italian ceramicists working in India, herbal products and extracts, handbags and books on cannabis and plant medicines.

In that room, there are couches and a fireplace. In addition, there’s an indoor garden with moss-covered rocks, and windows overlooking Laurel Lake.

Purdy is looking forward to hosting workshops and book signings with authors.

Purdy and Jason Song, her business partner and cousin, along with investors, spent more than $1 million to renovate and add on to the building. That does not include the $690,000 it cost to buy the building, which they purchased in June 2022 under the name Sweetgrass Laurel Street.

Both McCabe and Purdy grew up aware of and interested in cannabis.

Born and raised in Watertown, Conn., McCabe graduated from Holy Cross High School in Waterbury. He worked for a few years as an electrician.

Purdy, 50, who was born in New Haven, Conn., graduated from the Taft School in Watertown and from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., with a degree in anthropology.

At the age of 20, she traveled to India and Tibet for the first time. She later studied traditional uses of cannabis and other sacred plants.

After college, she became involved in the food scene, setting up Pizza to the People, a wood-fired pizza oven pulled by a school bus at music festivals and started a catering company under her own name. In addition, she translated books for a publisher in Paris that she also helped found. In the mid-1990s, she worked at High Times Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam and has recently written feature stories for High Times magazine.

In 2014, Purdy and McCabe met at a cannabis operation in Connecticut.

After a breakup with a girlfriend, McCabe trailed mentor Dan Fung to Oregon in 2016 and became entrenched in the West Coast cannabis world, where he garnered multiple awards for his work, including top honors at the first U.S. Legends of Hashish in 2021.

Now 34, based on his specialized knowledge, he’s been invited to lecture at Cornell University’s Cannabis and Hemp Sciences program, where he explains the process he uses to college

students.

Listening to McCabe talk about processing is akin to listening to a vintner crafting fine wine. He speaks of defining undertones and terpenes as well as his

If you go

WHERE: 635 Laurel St., Lee

WHO: Open to people age 21 and older. Personal identification is required for entry.

WHAT: Cannabis flower, solventless hashish and concentrates, hash-infused edibles and topicals made on site.

WHEN: Open Monday to Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

CONTACT INFO: shopsweetgrass. com or 413-394-4218

passion for flavor.

Purdy said she’s always been interested in the intersection of food and politics. She applied for Lee’s second license for a cannabis dispensary in 2019, then faced stiff opposition from neighbors, although it was the Lee Planning Board that pointed her toward the Cork N’ Hearth property.

She fell in love with the location and the rambling, quirky building that dates to 1874, as well as its history as a beloved restaurant — despite its impractical flat roof.

While the building was under renovation, which cost double the amount expected, people stopped by remembering special occasions they spent at the Cork N’ Hearth.

Now, she said, people have been stopping to ask when Sweetgrass Botanicals will open.

“We’re all smokers,” she said of her staff. “We’re not business people getting into cannabis. We’re cannabis people getting into business.”

And although she acknowledges the market for cannabis may be saturated in the Berkshires, Purdy is confident that what she and McCabe plan to offer is unique.

She said, “We want to invent a new form of hospitality here.”

PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN

Cassandra Purdy, chef and owner of Sweetgrass Botanicals, became involved in the food scene after college. In the mid-1990s, she worked at High Times Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam.

The main dining room of the former restaurant is now a boutique called the Mercantile and has products associated with the cannabis lifestyle.

After four years of renovations and jumping through hoops to receive state permits, Sweetgrass Botanicals has opened its solvent-less hash manufacturing facility and recreational dispensary.

How to craft a nonprofit award nomination

By H anna H Van Sickle

March in the Berkshires can feel lackluster at best. In fact, a proverb of unknown origin — In like a lion, out like a lamb — attempts to sum things up.

For folks familiar with the 413, little explanation is needed: Snow likely lingers across the undulating hills and spring, despite its official arrival, hovers in the (distant) air. For those affiliated with the region’s vibrant nonprofit sector, ‘tis the season to nominate a colleague, constituent or community member for the 7th Annual Berkshire Nonprofit Awards — slated for May 21 at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge.

In this former judge and seasoned storyteller’s opinion, crafting a compelling nomination (one that makes your nominee shine and stand out from the crowd) boils down to the basics: SHOW, DON’T TELL.

For sake of clarification, let’s return to the aforementioned proverb: If you’ve lived through March in Western Massachusetts, and experienced its volatility first hand, my telling you about it will suffice.

That said, for one who hails from a more temperate climate, I must illustrate what I mean by showing:

“As March unfolds, frigid winds shriek across the still-frozen landscape, rattling ancient trees whose ice-coated limbs routinely succumb to gale-force gusts; by month’s end, caked mud prevails — clinging to jaunty rubber boots and filling cavernous potholes that dot city streets — as snowdrops nudge their hesitant noses through the warming earth.”

It’s a powerful approach, right? Let’s put it to use.

TIPS TO MAKE YOUR [NONPROFIT SECTOR]

NOMINEE SHINE

Understand the criteria: Review the award criteria carefully and thoroughly in order to understand (and provide) what the judges are requesting. Address each individual criteria with specific qualities and achievements that bring your nominee, and their contributions to the nonprofit sector, to life.

“She sees [the nonprofit’s] potential. [The nominee] welcomes differing perspectives and, during her tenure, has increased the diversity of our board — 50 percent of whom identify as BIPOC.”

Tell a compelling story: Show the nominee in action rather than tell the judges how wonderful they are. Use detailed anecdotes and real-life examples to illustrate the nominee’s impact in their field and the community at large.

“Over this past winter, we had a horrific snowfall that almost halted us from opening our [community event]. [The nominee] took action, grabbed a shovel, and worked tirelessly for hours to get the property cleared and safe for the public.”

Emphasize impact over achievements: Underscore the how and why of a nominee’s achievements as opposed to simply what they were. Spotlight the nominee partnering and/or collaborating with others if this is integral to their work.

“Beyond his regular weekly volunteer stint, [the nominee] wanted to take the needs of [the nonprofit] to his peers. He made a short video about [the non-

profit], our local fundraising and food insecurity across the Southern Berkshires [and] presented the video at his school. Two weeks before Thanksgiving, he presented [the nonprofit] with a check for $1,400, which purchased just over 50 turkeys for local working families.”

Employ multiple voices: Include testimonials and letters of support from those adjacent to the nominee in order to provide a robust sense of their impact. Utilize personal experiences in order to add credibility and depth to the nomination.

“From the time [the nominee] was a high school student, she has brought integrity, energy and commitment to the task of making our community more just and compassionate,” said a local nonprofit board president, in support of a nomination penned by a colleague, of their previous experience working with the nominee.

Address challenges and solutions: Be transparent about challenges the nominee may have faced and emphasize how they were overcome. Discuss the nominee’s adaptability and resilience in the face of obstacles.

“At a recent event, [the nominee] would not accept that a downpour could impede town involvement; instead, [the nominee] put on her kneehigh waders and a massive raincoat and got to work setting up a community soup tasting, tackling the wind, securing unstable tents and all the rest without a complaint.”

Stay on task: Answer each question using clear, concise and persuasive language. Avoid overly complex language that may be difficult to understand.

Proofread and edit: Ensure all information is accurate and up-to-date; seek feedback when needed, especially if you are having trouble answering any of the questions. Employ a colleague to proofread your nomination to eliminate errors and improve clarity.

Follow Submission Guidelines: Adhere to submission guidelines, which are clearly outlined online (npcberkshires.org). Ensure that you submit all required materials prior to the advertised deadline — which, for this year’s awards, is Wednesday, March 13.

Writing a successful nomination requires rich detail and effective storytelling. Your job is to illustrate the nominee in action; convey what compelled you to nominate this individual; and communicate the impact of their work, their passion for the organization, and how they rally enthusiasm around mission-related causes.

With any luck come April — when a diverse panel of judges from the business and nonprofit sectors convenes to choose this year’s honorees — the influential individual you are nominating will not only shine but they will also stand out from the crowd. Additional information about the Berkshire Nonprofit Awards criteria can be found online at npcberkshires.org.

This column was written in collaboration with Liana Toscanini.

Hannah Van Sickle is an educator turned freelance writer. Liana Toscanini is the executive director of the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires in Great Barrington.

Wanted: A more business-friendly state

LEE — They arrive almost every day at companies throughout Massachusetts — slick brochures urging owners to move or expand their operations to sunny climates like Tennessee, North Carolina or Arizona.

These solicitations arrive with promises of low taxes, plentiful land, cheap building costs, streamlined regulation, customized training programs and energy costs that are half what they are in the northeast.

Let me state clearly and unambiguously that Onyx Specialty Papers, where I serve as president, is not moving from our location in South Lee. Onyx plans to remain close to its Berkshire roots and to its outstanding work force.

significant concern for companies like Onyx, that manufactures product shipped around the world.

• Massachusetts employers pay some of the highest Unemployment Insurance taxes in the country. The commonwealth is ranked dead last among the 50 states on the structure of its unemployment system. And that’s before the state resolves a $2.5 billion deficit in the UI system because it misused federal relief funds to pay jobless claims during the pandemic.

At the same time, the aggressive recruitment of Massachusetts companies, particularly manufacturing companies, reminds us of the importance of creating a business environment that allows employers to grow and create jobs despite the inherent cost disadvantages of doing business in the Northeast.

The cost pressures facing Massachusetts companies are well documented.

• Massachusetts slipped to 46th on the Tax Foundation’s 2024 State Tax Business Climate Index and ranked 49th for “Cost of Doing Business” in CNBC’s Top States for Doing Business.

• The commonwealth has the fourth highest electric rates in the country, trailing only Hawaii, Rhode Island and California. High energy costs are a

• Only five states (California, Hawaii, New York, Montana and Washington) have a median home price higher than the $595,700 workers must shell out for a house in Massachusetts. The median list price of a home in Berkshire County increased 29.4 percent to $385,000 between September 2022 and September 2023. That includes an eye-popping jump of 154.4 percent for the one-bedroom homes that would be most attractive to younger workers.

• Massachusetts has the third-highest average per-capita health care costs in the U.S., 31 percent more than the national average and behind only Alaska and New York. The state Health Policy Commission reports that between 2019 and 2021, per-capita commercial health care spending rose an average of 5 percent each year, more than a full point above the national growth rate and twice the rate by which incomes increased in that span.

A worker at Onyx Specialty Papers in Lee prepares a roll of decorative paper back in 2013. While Onyx plans to remain close to its Berkshire roots and its outstanding work force, President Patricia Begrowicz says Massachusetts companies are facing significant cost challenges.

• And while the Massachusetts population finally increased during 2023 after years of decline, southern states still accounted for 87 percent of the US population increase as entrepreneurs and other highnet-worth individuals headed for favorable business climates. United Van Lines’ 47th annual National Movers Study this month found that Massachusetts remains a top 10 state for outbound residents.

Some economists maintain that business costs don’t matter in a state where the economic growth is driven heavily by high-margin knowledge industries such as biosciences, software and artificial intelligence. But a recent Boston Globe article on the growth of biotech manufacturing in North Carolina underscores the dangers

of creating an “invented here, made somewhere else” approach to job creation.

Gov. Maura Healey acknowledges the fierce competition among U.S. states and the need to make the commonwealth competitive for business and affordable for workers. That’s one of the reasons the governor championed a new tax law last year that reduced the rate on short-term capital gains and raised the threshold for imposition of the estate tax.

“Massachusetts’ success depends on the success of the business community,” the governor said during a Jan. 25 speech to the Associated Industries of Massachusetts Executive Forum.

In her State of the Commonwealth address, the governor said: “Yes, our economy is strong

— Massachusetts has more jobs than ever before, and unemployment has been at all-time lows. But we also know prices are high, and too many families have a hard time making ends meet.”

The state and private industry are making laudable steps toward translating technology into manufacturing jobs. Massachusetts last year partnered with the private sector to win a competitive Microelectronics Hub through the federal CHIPS & Science Act. The hub will accelerate the growth of advanced manufacturing and create good jobs all across state. The state also worked with life science and health care leaders to pitch and win a national hub in ARPA-H, America’s medical discovery initiative.

But work remains to make Massachusetts a hospitable place for startups and mature industries alike. We need to reduce the short-term capital gains tax rate to 5 percent to stimulate business investment.

Massachusetts should also join every other state in New Egland and exempt rolling stock — tractors, trailers and rail cars — from sales tax. And let’s allow deductions for business interest so that companies will not be penalized for borrowing and investing in growth.

A few simple steps like these will ensure that most of those colorful brochures from other states end up in the wastebasket.

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

Patricia Begrowicz The View from AIM

BEN GARVER

Looking back at year in real estate

PITTSFIELD — In 2022, Berkshire real estate sales slowed from the peak of pandemic buying and the 2023 market continued that decrease.

The dollar volume of all properties transacted retracted to 2019 levels, and the number of properties sold fell to 2016 lows. Reports by area Realtors show that while the market has cooled from the frenzied pace, the lack of inventory is taking a toll on the sales rates.

The total number of all real estate transactions topped 2,388 in 2021, and this year sales dipped to 1,651 countywide. With a total market volume of $692 million transacted in 2023, this is down from a record-breaking high of $892 million dollars sold in 2021. Many factors are impacting the market, including low inventory, higher mortgage rates, inflation, talks of nationwide recession and overall, more cautious buyers than the previous year.

It’s important to drill down in the numbers, as some towns have continued a steady pace while others stalled. For example, the middle Berkshire condo market remained strong while the north Berkshire multifamily market was stable.

RESIDENTIAL REPORT

Overall, the number of home sales in 2023 decreased 18 percent over the previous year, from 1,346 down to 1,109. North County sales started robust but fell in the 3rd quarter, with a net decrease of 10 percent. The North County residential (single-family) market retracted the least of any other area in the Berkshires, with central closely following with a 17 percent decrease.

South county, however, reported a 30 percent decrease in the number of sales and a 21 percent decrease in the dollar volume of sales. It should be noted that in southern Berkshire, sales of $171

million still far exceed pre-pandemic years. Notably, average sales prices rose significantly in southern Berkshire, modestly in middle and fell slightly in north.

That said, there were a few markets that recorded increases in 2023 over the previous year. In Adams, North Adams and Williamstown, the dollar volume of sale transactions increased. The total number of residential homes sold in North Adams was the same as last year and Williamstown sales rose by 4 percent — or 2 additional homes sold when comparing 2023 to 2022.

while rates moved up and leveled during the year.

The 2022 prediction of a failing market rang true. With inventory remaining a challenge, high building costs, rising of both interest rates and inflation, sales were struggling this year. We see now more than ever that looking at specific property types, locations and price ranges is critical to understanding the buyers remaining in the market and where the housing gaps are that can be filled with our current inventory.

CONDOMINIUM REPORT

In the middle registry area, Becket, Otis, and Richmond saw rising dollar volume for residential sales however, only Richmond increased the total number of homes sold slightly, up 4 percent, or 1 additional sale. Pittsfield, the leader of the region in the number of homes available and on the market, slowed by 20 percent. New Marlborough and Sandisfield recorded a rising market compared to 2022. Sheffield sales fell, but the dollar volume transacted rose slightly.

While the most popular price ranges vary by where a home is located, you can see that most of the inventory and sales in the north Berkshire area are well under $300,000. In central, the majority of sales are in the $250,000 to $350,000 range, but there is a pocket of activity between $500,000 and $750,000 that is also popular.

The $500,000+ range is also the most active market in the southern Berkshire area, but the homes available for sale are primarily above that price point. The year 2023 was a tough one for homebuyers finding a property within their price range and being able to afford and qualify for a mortgage

Condominium sales in southern Berkshire County fell considerably in 2023 compared to 2022 sales rates. Despite that retracting market, average sale prices of condos skyrocketed. North Berkshire trends were mixed, with gains of 6 percent in the dollar volume of condos sold and a decrease of 9 units sold (17 percent).

Price appreciation surged in northern Berkshire condo sales as well, up to $406,336 on average. The middle Berkshire market condo sales tracked very closely to 2022 sales rates, but last year was not a strong condo market in the middle area. There was a slight appreciation in dollar volume and slight gain in total dollar volume sold, but still lower than the peak of the market.

MULTIFAMILY REPORT

Multifamily sales dipped slightly with a market slowdown but sales data was mixed. North county sales remained level from 2022, with a 9 percent increase both the total dollar volume of one- to five-unit buildings and the average sales price. Sales fell in the middle Berkshires region to pre-pandemic sales rates.

Southern Berkshire multifamily sales retracted with one less unit sold, but a large jump in both the dollar volume transacted and the median sale price. The median price in 2022 was $379,500 for a multifamily building, compared to $797,250 in 2023, a 110 percent increase.

LAND REPORT

After a few robust years of land sales, the market started to retract in 2022 and continued the decent in 2023. Despite land parcel sales falling from 2021 in 2022 to 164 in 2023, the dollar volume and average sale price both rose over 2022. It is noted that the number of all raw land sales dipped in all parts of the county, but north and middle Berkshire recorded higher-dollar volume transacted and rising average sale prices.

With building costs an unknown going forward, it is important to maintain a close eye on permits and building opportunities to help alleviate pent-up buyer demand for existing homes in popular price points. It remains incredibly hard to build needed workforce priced housing with current costs and codes.

COMMERCIAL REPORT

Despite a commercial market heavily impacted by work-from-home and business closures, commercial sales rose in 2021, dipped in 2022 and regained momentum in 2023. North and south county sales rose commercial sales considerably, while central Berkshire declined overall.

Please note: not all Realtor-assisted commercial sales are included in this data; only those on the open market.

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

Sanda J. Carroll Real estate

Greylock Federal

FROM PAGE 1

our community development department. It was focused on financial inclusion and providing products to low- to moderate-income households.”

One of the financial initiatives created in recent years assists people in building their savings, while another works on credit-building.

In 2021, “We launched the Opportuni-

ty for Homeownership Program, working alongside the Westside Legends,” Rathbun-Briggs said.

CDFI IMPETUS

CDFI certification “requires that you are in a high-needs area and deliver [services] in a mission-driven way, where most of your loans are going to low- and moderate-income folks,” she said. “We have to report to them annually on what we are doing in our community. We are required — to keep CDFI

146-156

President] Tony Jackson, was ‘buying back our neighborhood.’ And that is why we responded to it. We wanted to support that vision any way we could.”

“We’re very proud of the program,” Jackson said. “We’ve been able to help some people become homeowners, who probably didn’t have too many opportunities, or there were so many barriers that prevented them from doing it.”

Westside Legends “helps bridge the gap for people from the community, where they would trust us, lower their guard to come get involved,” he said. “What the Westside Legends board does is, we’re the mentors for the people who come in, so when they have a question — like, ‘what do I do, what do I do next, where do I go’ — we walk them through the steps.”

Westside Legends has also begun a stewardship program, he said, “so when they get into the house and they have questions — when they get into a situation of ‘where do I get this, what kind of contractor do I use, how do I go about doing it? — it has become a stewardship, as well as a mentorship.”

Jackson said the community group’s relationship with Greylock Federal grew from cooperation on a mural project on the West Side, which was followed by a discussion of how the credit union could assist a West Side Legends initiative to restore dilapidated residential properties in the neighborhood.

status — to loan more than 60 percent to target market areas, which include lowto moderate-income.”

With the designation, Greylock Federal also has been able “to bring in grant funds to support the loans we are talking about today,” she said.

The requirement to capture race and ethnicity data for Greylock Federal’s mortgage borrowers was revealing, Rathbun-Briggs said.

“What we noticed, when we compared the applications received, as well as applications approved and denied, is that we weren’t getting the right amount, or a representative amount, from Black and African American borrowers or borrowers that identify as Hispanic,” she said.

“So, we did a self-assessment, and we were underserving a market that was already underserved,” she said. “And we asked what could we do to encourage home ownership and the dream of home ownership within those communities.

“The first year that we looked at this,” she said, “we had a handful of applications from Black families. Five, six, seven — that’s it. And we do thousands of mortgages. So this was really a time for us to reflect on why is that happening.”

WESTSIDE LEGENDS

“A credit union or a financial institution can’t solve the issues of Black ownership itself,” Rathbun-Briggs said. “So one of the things that we did was consult with our community development advisory committee, which is a volunteer committee made up of those who have lived experience as Black and African American families, and we asked them why is it that people weren’t applying for loans at Greylock.”

One thing they heard is that many families had been renters for generations and didn’t think home ownership seemed a feasible option for them.

“We thought, ‘how can we create a hope; how can we create a homeownership training?’ And again, that is not something that Greylock could do on its own,” she said.

The credit union didn’t have to look far to find a key partner.

“We had a wonderful organization, Westside Legends,” Bissell said, which “had a dream of creating more home ownership and restoring the West Side to its original glory.”

That joint effort coalesced in 2020, and the result was the West Side Legends Opportunity for Home Ownership partnership with Greylock.

“It is important to note it is the Westside Legends program,” Bissell said. “We are privileged to be their primary lending partner, but the vision that the founders expressed, particularly [WSL

“And at that point John Bissell said, ‘I need your help,’” Jackson said. “They had a mortgage program that only had a minimum amount of people of color, Black people, and when he told me the number, I was astonished; I couldn’t believe it. And he said, ‘Can you help us get a mortgage program in the community?’

“We put a program together along with Greylock that is unheard of, phenomenal,” Jackson said.

Even with most barriers removed, some applicants were still not in a good position if the house they could afford needed $50,000 or more in renovations to make it livable or desirable to live in, Jackson said, adding, “What Greylock Federal suggested was, ‘We would like to give grants out — $10,000 for anyone and $15,000 if they live on the West Side.’”

With its program underway to revitalize houses on the West Side, “we realized we had to do more,” he said. “And every time we ran into issues, Greylock has been able to step up and help us out.”

REDLINING MAPS

In 2021, Greylock launched a pilot homeownership program. Also that year, the credit union commissioned a historical study of redlining in Pittsfield — or the mapping of areas where mortgages would be considered more or less undesireable or risky for lenders, depending on a color code.

Red zones on a 1930s-era map included in the study report — described in this case as “hazardous” — usually included predominantly minority communities.

Retired Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Professor Frances Jones-Sneed, and report co-author Kamaar Taliaferro of the NAACP Berkshire Branch, focused in the study on historic redlining and other discriminatory practices in Pittsfield.

“I think that’s an important piece,” Bissell said.

“We were looking at how the dynamics that existed in this community ... come to be this way,” he said. “And we were curious whether the practice of redlining could be a factor here, as was [the case] in larger cities. The impact of redlining has been really well documented.”

On the redlining map the study cites, which dates to the 1930s, “the West Side was where most of the red on that map appeared,” Bissell said.

“That really galvanized our commitment to working as closely as we could with West Side Legends,” he said. “It showed us the why — how we got where we are. It made us understand the kinds of systemic change needed to help turn that around.”

COMMUNITY LENDER

“We were able to identify some of the barriers that existed for Black families on home ownership,” Rathbun-Briggs said. “Sometimes it was the downpayment, other times it was credit issues;

STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN

Greylock Federal Credit Union President and CEO John Bissell and Chief Lending Officer Jodi Rathburn-Briggs. In 2016, Greylock launched its community development department, focusing on financial inclusion and providing products to low- to moderate-income households.

Greylock Federal

we were really lucky to be able to bring in Myla Franklin in 2022 as our community lender.”

Franklin “has deep roots and connections within the West Side that really helped us build more relationships,” Rathbun-Briggs said, “and she has been instrumental in providing how we needed to tweak our programs to be more effective.”

“I started to realize pretty quickly that you had to build trust in the community,” Franklin said. “You get out there and you talk about home mortgages, and people were still very skeptical about the whole thing. So it really started very basically; you just developed that relationship and trust.”

Greylock “has a great reputation anyway,” she added, “so it was kind of easy to relay, because they knew we were somebody who cares about the communities.”

When they started the program, “we had, I think, three or four people pre-qualified, and we started working to find out what those barriers were. We do a lot of financial coaching with this.”

DRAMATIC INCREASE

During 2023, 47 mortgages were extended by Greylock to Black homeowners, totaling $8.8 million.

Of those, 27 were funded through the Westside Legends Opportunity for Homeownership partnership program, totaling $5.1 million.

Twenty mortgages also were extended to Black and African American applicants outside the Westside Legends area and that partnership.

Recent statistics also showed that 4.92 percent of Greylock Federal mortgages were extended to Black applicants, while the Black population in Berkshire County is 2.6 percent of the total.

The [applicants] participating in this have a history of living and working in the Pittsfield area, Franklin said, adding, “They partner with me personally or with our coaching department.”

Greylock Federal currently has 38 financial coaches, all employees, most of whom volunteer part time.

SUCCESSES

Franklin said the families they serve “come in and work really hard on this to get to the point where they can prequalify for a mortgage.”

Success stories have included a husband and wife who worked for three decades for the school department and had never owned a home.

“But they started to see that the dream could be theirs, and they worked really hard, and they just closed on their home several months ago,” Franklin said.

“They said to me, ‘this is something that has changed our lives, our children’s lives,’” and what they could now leave to the next generation.

‘WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT’

For Hope Dillard, her dream of own-

ing a home was one she had almost forgotten about over the years.

“Once, long ago, I thought about trying to become a homeowner, but I didn’t know how to go about it,” Dillard said. “But I heard about the program, and I went into coaching at Greylock with Stephanie Martin and Myla Franklin.

I learned how to get my credit right with Myla Franklin; she taught me everything I needed to know and how to improve it, and to this day my credit [score] is way over what it was before.”

She said she had worked two jobs for many years but still lived in a small, one-bedroom apartment.

“I said I’m never going to ever do anything because my credit was so bad,” Dillard said. “But they teach you about credit repair, and they teach you how to save.

“When I went to budgeting with Stephanie, I realized I have a ton of money I could put away instead of just blowing it on frivolous stuff,” she said.

It took a long time, she added, but with a much higher credit score and her savings, Dillard qualified for a mortgage. “For me, that was phenomenal,” she said. “If it wasn’t for Stephanie and Myla, I would not be in my home today.”

It’s a three-bedroom, two-bath house.

“Who would have ever thought that I could have something like this?” she said. “I worked two jobs for many years, and it was phenomenal to know I had a reward at the end.”

Franklin and Martin “are amazing, strong women,” she said. “They give you the motivation. It’s OK, OK — let’s

do this!

“I also want to say that people should reach out to Greylock,” Dillard said. “They will work with you; they will do anything to help you succeed.”

‘REAL PEOPLE’

“I want to get the message out there that these are real people in our community that work hard to do this,” Franklin said. “It is really an honor to work with them.”

Greylock representatives meet monthly with West Side Legends mem-

bers “to keep that partnership strong,” Franklin said.

Bissell said the programs “really took off because of West Side Legends” and the organization’s vision for the community.

Building trust within the community was key, Rathbun-Briggs stressed, adding that, by following similar steps, “this can be done by other financial institutions as well.”

Contact Jim Therrien at therrienjim76@gmail. com or call 413-281-2646

STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN

Greylock Federal Credit Union’s branch on West Street in Pittsfield. Greylock is Westside Legends’ primary lending partner and supports Westside Legends’ vision of “buying back our neighborhood.”

BEN GARVER

Before connecting with Greylock Federal Credit Union, Hope Dillard lived in a small, onebedroom apartment while working two jobs.

Berkshire Busk!

He is a consultant and adviser to early-stage technology ventures and moved to Berkshire County from New York City 12 years ago. He studied cello and history at Oberlin Conservatory and then received an MBA from Columbia Business School. He worked in arts management with the American Symphony Orchestra and Concordia Orchestra. In 1995 he launched his first technology venture, an online national art listing and ticketing site, which he subsequently sold.

financial support from the Town of Great Barrington and the Downtown Cultural District. It sponsors fundraising events, including auctions.

“We’d like to develop a solid financial base rather than starting from Square 1 every year to raise funds for the upcoming season.”

EugEnE Carr, Berkshire Busk! founder and festival director

The idea for Berkshire Busk! was inspired by his experience of playing cello with a jazz band outside the Triplex Cinema in 2020.

“It felt magical to be playing in the open air for people downtown,” he said. “I thought it would be great to see a lot more of that, which gave me the idea of an organized busking festival.”

He took the concept to town officials and local business, which led to the formation of the Berkshire Busk!

It has an annual budget of $100,000 and is supported by sponsorships from approximately 40 local businesses and organizations and other private individual donations. It also receives in-kind and

In addition

to Carr, it has a paid general manager, Carli Scolforo. During the summer season it employs about five production assistants.

Carr said the event has grown consistently over its first three years, as more people have become aware of it through social media, a downtown banner, word of mouth and other venues.

Based on their analysis, approximately 28,000 people were downtown during Berkshire Busk! last summer, and about 11,000 of them specifically came for the event.

He acknowledged that determining the specific attendance and economic impact of Berkshire Busk! is not an exact science. They have used in-person headcounts, on-site surveys and other data, including the experience of sample downtown businesses, to calculate and estimate the numbers as closely as possible.

“We haven’t done it exactly like an economist would, but we did basic, logical extrapolations,” he said.

In a direct measurement, ev-

ery year organizers have regularly counted the number of people at downtown locations at specific times during the events.

“For example, at 7:30 p.m., we use a clicker and go around and count how many people are on the street.” he said. “In 2021, the number hovered around 200 at the time we did the count. In 2023, we were seeing more like 500 people at the same time.”

Carr estimated that Berkshire Busk! generated about $700,000 in incremental spending downtown last summer. He added that it also generates public revenue such as sales taxes.

Looking forward, Carr said one goal for this year is to actively promote the event to parents. “We’ve always had family events,” he said. “One of the things parents tell us is that they

appreciate that this is an activity where their kids can have fun in a safe environment. We want to emphasize that aspect.”

They are also forming partnerships with other organizations to sponsor theme nights and other special features. “For example, we can work with a professional dance organization to bring in their performers as a featured event,” he said.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY SAM BREWER Folks enjoy Berkshire Busk! festivities in downtown Great Barrington. The event kicks off its season the weekend of June 28.

Eagle launches digital marketing agency

By Jane K aufman

PITTSFIELD — The Berkshire Eagle has launched Talon Media, a full-stack digital marketing agency, which will become a division of New England Newspapers Inc.

Think of Talon Media as a matchmaker for both local and national businesses to connect to a carefully chosen pool of potential customers online.

It will help businesses define target markets and launch creative advertising campaigns in the digital world. Simultaneously, Talon Media’s business clients will receive access to a dashboard that is updated every 24 hours showing the metrics of these campaigns.

Gary Lavariere, The Berkshire Eagle’s chief revenue officer, will be Talon Media’s managing director, overseeing a fleet of 25 staffers that he hopes will expand.

While some businesses in Talon Media’s pool of clients may choose to advertise in The Berkshire Eagle and its sibling publications, that may not be the case for others and is not a prerequisite or expectation for businesses seeking Talon Media’s services.

“It’s really what we call extended network, or programmatic placement,” Lavariere said. “It doesn’t essentially matter where it shows up. It’s just really based on the ideal demographic that customers are looking to target.”

In a way, Talon Media’s mission isn’t new to the advertising and business staff of The Berkshire Eagle. For the past decade, the two departments have worked with hundreds of businesses in Berkshire County, the tri-state area and beyond to develop strategies for advertising on the Internet.

What’s changing are the breadth, type and sophistication of online advertising options. As potential digital partners expand — with the addition of streaming TV, for example — Talon Media will analyze and strategize for its clients.

“Our hope would be to work with hundreds of clients on a regular basis,” he said. “Really having them trust us to be the sole digital solutions provider for them, that would be our goal.”

In framing these highly targeted campaigns, Talon Media will be able to reach niche markets and alternative ones, such as cannabis, tobacco and casinos.

On Talon Media’s website there are case studies showing success, including a gym that gained 73 members in a competitive market and a one-month campaign that delivered nearly 1,500 impressions to a ski area’s lift ticket sales package.

“We offer incredibly transparent reporting for our clients,” he said, adding that monthly reports are typically sent to businesses showing the number of

impressions and clicks. “We have an actual live reporting dashboard. Clients can go in and transparently see how their campaigns are performing.”

They will be able to see “where we’re targeting, what websites the ads are serving on, and exactly what conversions they’re getting from these campaigns — on a 24-hour basis.”

In the past year, New England Newspapers has launched BerkshiresWeek. com, a free entertainment website, and The B, a quarterly magazine.

Fredric D. Rutberg, publisher and president of The Berkshire Eagle, explained how Talon Media fits in with the mission of New England Newspapers.

“News gathering and distribution is an industry in America that is under serious financial stress,” Rutberg said. “Anything we can do to relieve that stress is good for the company adding it.”

Each initiative, he said, contributes to making The Eagle “strong and stable.”

For more information, please visit Talonmediaagency.com or contact Lavariere at 413-496-6347.

75 1949-2024 years

FILE PHOTO

Gary Lavariere, chief revenue officer of The Berkshire Eagle, is Talon Media’s managing director.

‘Roadside 2.0’ eyes April opening

By Jane K aufman

MONTEREY — Outside the Roadside Store & Café, newly installed copper gutters shone in the sun Monday while inside the walk-in freezer was being wired for electricity.

The beloved restaurant breakfast and lunch spot on Route 23, which was torn down last spring, is poised to reopen in mid-April after a total rebuild. This new version has been referred to as Roadside 2.0.

Kitchen appliances are already installed, including a six-burner Vulcan range, a six-foot-long flat-top, two stacking convection ovens and a sandwich prep station. Breakfast and lunch will be served Wednesday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. For now, the dining room is bare.

Owned and run by staff and guests of Gould Farm, a nearby therapeutic community, the former gas station and convenience store at 275 Main Road operated as a restaurant from 1978 until COVID-19 shut down businesses in the spring of 2020.

Gould Farm is just two miles away on 700 acres. It includes a working dairy and beef farm, vegetable garden, forestry program and bakery. In addition to serving breakfast and lunch, The Roadside will sell Gould Farm products, including milk, yogurt, cheese, frozen beef as well as pastries, bread and granola.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Prior to beginning construction, Gould Farm bought about four acres behind the existing

two-acre parcel in order to site a new well and expanded septic system. Hefty stone retaining walls now run through that sloping parcel. The land and site work were needed to accommodate expanded seating — from 20 to 28 indoors, along with 12 to 16 on a stone patio and seating at four picnic tables on a grassy area near Swann Road.

The total project cost is $2 million, double the pre-COVID-19 estimate. That’s partly because of the land purchase and site work, but also because of the ballooning cost of materials and labor in a post-pandemic world. The new Roadside was designed by Zac Culbreth Architecture of Great Barrington. Restoration Inc. of Hinsdale served as general contractor.

In the summer of 2021, Gould Farm embarked on a $1.25 million fundraiser to help offset costs. A total of 501 individuals have raised just over $1 million to date, with an average gift of approximately $2,000 and the largest single contributor donating more than $204,000 over three years, according to Kelley Ellsworth, development associate at Gould Farm.

Still needed are the coffee bar and espresso machine, tables, chairs and smallwares. Gould Farm is launching an online crowdfunding campaign called “Gear Up for Good Eats” to offset those purchases.

“At this stage of the game, we’re not going to raise a million,” said Lisanne Finston, executive director of Gould Farm.

“We’re going to have to use some funds from our reserves. We’re hoping to raise a quarter of a million to make this doable. Lots of local people really welcomed this project with their generosity.”

Despite the rising cost, Finston said there wasn’t a choice.

“In many ways Roadside is the connection point for the farm’s mission and the community,” she said. “Not having it open was a real loss.”

ABOUT GOULD FARM

Guests of Gould Farm are adults 18 and up diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression, and anxiety, including those with a history of substance use. The therapeutic model is based on a three-pronged approach: work on one of the farm’s teams, living in community, and clinical care and supports. With an average length of stay of nine to 12 months, about half of Gould Farm’s residents pay the full cost of $400 per day. The rest receive subsidies since insurance doesn’t often cover residential programs. Gould Farm’s annual budget is $5 million budget supporting a total staff of 65 at sites Monterey and Medford, near Boston.

“People begin to recover,” Finston said, adding that guests find a sense of purpose and meaning, develop or recognize skills and strengths, learn to manage symptoms and “begin to think about their future.”

About a third of residents leave for transitional programs either on the farm or at Fell-

side, the Medford program. About one to two people a year who have transitioned out return to Gould Farm.

Roadside holds a unique place in Gould Farm’s program.

“That bridge building of Roadside as a part of our program becomes really important,” she said. “They connect with the broader community here. They continue to build their skills in a higher-pressure environment than some of our other teams.”

INSIDE ROADSIDE 2.0

The dining room feels airy, framed in a modernist post-andbeam style. It has hanging fixtures and oversized windows, along with glass doors leading directly to an at-grade patio.

While guests enjoyed the “open kitchen” of the old building, Roadside 2.0 will have a full and separate kitchen and even a small break room.

“I think there’s something about looking at plans and seeing them in real life,” said restaurant manager Francie Leventhal. “It’s gorgeous.”

Marveling at the space in the kitchen, “This place has so much opportunity,” she said. “We’re redesigning the entire program.”

Staff and guests will be able to work alongside one another at the flat-top grill, and overall, the design will allow the Roadside to accommodate “a variety of skills sets and needs,” Leventhal said.

“I’m most looking forward to seeing everybody,” she said. “Seeing all our customers. I miss everybody being able to gather here.”

PHOTOA BY JANE KAUFMAN

Lisanne Finston, executive director of Gould Farm, hopes donors will contribute money to furnish the dining room of the Roadside Store & Cafe, set to open in mid-April.

Kelley Ellsworth, Francie Leventhal and Lisanne Finston show off the Roadside Store & Cafe at 295 Main Road, Monterey. The restaurant, a project of Gould Farm, will reopen in its new quarters in April.

Bringing fresh eats to Cheshire

Culinary veteran hopes to fill local void

By Sten Spinella

CHESHIRE — A local son is determined to bring a full-service restaurant back to his hometown.

Cj Garner is hoping to open Common Table — a modern American/ polished comfort food establishment — by mid-May. It would be the first sit-down restaurant in Cheshire since Bass Water Grill closed in 2022.

he helped run the kitchen. About six years ago he moved to the front of the house, overseeing management at both restaurants.

Now, at his very own establishment, Garner’s headed back into the kitchen, and, he says, “I’m pretty excited about it.”

“We’re in Cheshire, and I know the food and price points need to be approachable and comfortable for people,” Garner said. “I’ve lived there my entire life, and I’m pretty in tune with my neighbors and what they’re looking for, and I’m excited to give it to them to the best of my ability.”

Garner calls the opening of the restaurant a “lifelong goal.” He went to McCann Technical School in North Adams, where he studied culinary arts. After graduation, he obtained an associate degree in culinary arts from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. After that, he earned an associate degree in hospitality administration.

For the past 10 years, Garner has served as a jack of all trades for two well-known Berkshire eateries: Public Eat + Drink in North Adams, and District Kitchen + Bar in Pittsfield. About 10 years ago, Garner began his time at Public as the sous chef. He helped open District in 2014, where

The space that will soon be Common Table is formerly a pizzeria and a laundromat. “I’m trying to shift that mindset,” Garner said.

“It’s not going to be a pizza house anymore. We may do pizzas or flatbreads or something like that, but it’s not going to be solely or primarily pizza,” Garner said. “We’re going to do some cosmetic changes and upgrades inside and out to change the feel and the vibe, modernize it and clean it up a little bit.”

Garner expects a staff of eight to start, with him in the kitchen and his partner Marcus Lyon running the front. Garner intends for Common Table to offer craft cocktails, local beers and quality wine.

Cheshire Community Association President John Tremblay said Common Table will provide precisely what the town is looking for.

“That location, which is close to where Bass Water was, is critical for the economy of Cheshire,” Tremblay said. “You’ve got thousands of vehicles passing by all those businesses every

day. You’ve got the Appalachian Trail and campsite, the [Ashuwillticook] Rail Trail and Cheshire [Reservoir] all within a half-mile radius of that location.”

Tremblay rattled off other burgeoning businesses in the half-mile radius, including Cheshire Glassworks, ShedsN-Stuff, the soon-to-open Cheshire outpost of Berkshire Outfitters, as well as multiple places to grab ice cream.

“It’s going to fill a void in this town,” Garner said of the restaurant. “My partner and I live in Cheshire, and whenever we want to go out to eat, we have to drive to Adams or North Adams or Pittsfield or further. There’s nothing right down the street. Our hope is to fill that void and give the town and give our neighbors that place right down the street to go get a decent meal.”

Bear Butter is coming to Great Barrington

By H eat H er Bellow

GREAT

BARRINGTON

— The owner of a Pittsfield juice, smoothie and almond butter hub is opening a second location in Great Barrington this spring.

Jonathan Vella, owner of The Spot on Tyler Street in Pittsfield, is opening Bear Butter at the former location of Subway at 323 Main St. on the corner of Main and Bridge streets.

Bear Butter is also the name of the company’s fortified almond butter products.

Vella, who opened The Spot five years ago in July, says he’s aiming for an April 1 opening, but that it could open earlier.

Vella said he and staff are “just decorating, mostly,” since the landlord had already begun renovating before he signed a lease, and then altered the renovations specifically for Bear Butter.

“It’s a whole fresh new space,” Vella said. “It’s full steam ahead from the beginning.”

It will seat around 20 people, he added, but “it’s a grab-andgo” type of place “by nature.”

Like The Spot, Bear Butter will feature smoothies, juices and acai bowls — thick acai berry smoothies in a bowl with toppings.

Bear Butter, he explained, is the name of The Spot’s homegrown almond butter — a blend that includes vegan proteins and other “superfoods.” A

smooth variety includes mushroom powders. “Bear Butter was born here,” he said of the Tyler Street location. “It’s grown into its own thing.”

Vella is a Lanesborough native who returned to the Berkshires and noted a void in smoothie,

“Ironically,”

GILLIAN JONES-HECK

PHOTO PROVIDED BY CJ GARNER

Cj Garner stands behind the bar at Public Eat + Drink in North Adams. Garner is moving out on his own with a new restaurant in Cheshire.

Bear Butter, a smoothie, juice and acai bowl shop, will open this spring in the former Subway at Main and Bridge streets.

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY ALLY VOYNER

Jonathan Vella, owner of The Spot in Pittsfield, will open Bear Butter in Great Barrington this spring.

Real estate transactions

Berkshire County Real Estate Transactions for Jan. 1-Feb. 2

ADAMS

16-18 North Summer Street LLC sold property at 16-18 North Summer St., Adams, to Attazor Financial Group LLC, $405,000.

Robert D. Lockerby sold property at 21 Richmond Lane, Adams, to Rutger A. and Aubrey L. Thurston, $205,000.

D&B Real Estate Ventures LLC sold property at 10-12 Richmond St., Adams, to 20 Gregory Farm LLC, $110,000.

Claire Love and Lisa Smith, personal rep. of Peter Allen Love, sold property at 14 Orchard St., Adams, to Alyse Franco, $205,000.

Michele Purcell sold property at 4 Harding Ave., Adams, to Bila Raphael Natama and Kansundo Brigitte Natama Naba, $299,900.

Alexandra Management LLC sold property at 2 Valley St., Adams, to Chu Perez-Martinez, $37,000.

Adam J. Filby, personal rep. of Michael James Filby, sold property at 246½ Columbia St., Adams, to Ellies Holdings LLC, $30,000.

ALFORD

Harriet Fabrykant sold property at Seekonk Road, Alford, to James B. Ketchen and Susan B. Ketchen, $107,000.

BECKET

David Houghtlin sold property at 26 Wells Road, Becket, to Danielle Langin, $125,000.

Mark Cannizzaro sold property at Prince John Drive, Becket, to Fernando Constante, $13,000.

Philip D. Brent LLC sold property at Bancroft Road, Becket, to Larry D. Miclette Jr., trustee, Larry D. Miclette Jr. LT, $18,000.

John M. and Tracy L. Notar sold property at 878 Jacobs Ladder Road, Becket, to John and Marie Louise Penney, $54,000.

Helen E. Brecher sold property at 160 Gentian Hollow, Becket, to Paula F. Goulden, $459,500.

Susan Spencer Pratt, personal rep. of the Estate of Leonard Holmes Spencer, sold property at High Street, Becket, and Middlefield Road, Washington, to 219WMR LLC, $210,000.

Paul A. Herold, trustee, Paul A. Herold Trust, sold property at Bonny Rigg Hill Road, Becket, to Derek and Tricia Warren, $20,000.

Gerald R. Steinberg sold property at Bonny Rigg Hill Road, Becket, to Scott Douglas and Elizabeth Anne Moore, $19,000.

Richard M. Dyer sold property at 23 Carter Road and Main Street, Becket, to E. Davis Dyer, $75,000.

Community LD LLC sold property at Main Street, Becket, to CLNP SPE LLC, $15,756.

CHESHIRE

Little Lighter LLC sold property at 65 Mallard Cove, Cheshire, to Jonathan S. and Lara S. Denmark, $503,000.

Edward P. Provost sold property at 30 Main St., Cheshire, to Caleb Appleton, $234,900.

CLARKSBURG

Emilie A. Weber sold property at 24 Fieldwood Drive, Clarksburg, to James V. Leonesio Jr., $300,000.

DALTON

Lucas J. and Abigail C. Wood-Poidoro sold property at 45 Deming St., Dalton, to Zachary Polwrek, $260,000.

David and Lizabeth Gargan sold property at 121-123 Warren Ave., Dalton, to Robert J.

and Maria McClelland, $277,250.

Richard W. Wilbur Jr. sold property at 69 Orchard Road, Dalton, to TMR Realty LLC, $250,000.

Ashleigh A. and Michael J. Anthony sold property at 255 Pleasant St., Dalton, to Daniel J. Slater, $275,000.

S. Richard Reece sold property at 574 Red Barn Road, Dalton, to Barbara M. Waldinger, trustee, 574 Red Barn NT, $700,000.

Mitchell J. Salvini sold property at 69 Curtis Ave., Dalton, to Matthew Tekin and Monica Penna, $355,000.

Jeffrey J. Roucoulet sold property at 189-191 Ashuelot St., Dalton, to Mitchell J. and Ashley Salvini and Coreane A. Fazio, $270,000.

EGREMONT

STT LLC sold property at 113 Hillsdale Road, Egremont, to Lori Beth Haims, $401,000.

Stuart M. Rosen and Suzanne Buterfield Rosen, trustees of Shun Toll Realty Trust, sold property at 59 Shun Toll Road, Egremont, to Kenneth Goldman, trustee of Ross Goldman 2012 Grantor Trust, $3,750,000.

Kimberley C. Hyatt and Jonathan E. Beattie sold property at Undermountain Road, Egremont, to Undermountain Road LLC, $390,000.

Adam Zipkin and Rebecca Dince Zipkin sold property at 162 North Baldwin Hill Road, Egremont, to Jane R. Marcus and Johnson M. Tyler, $2,820,000.

Estate of Sarah M. Gossage sold property at 2 Sheffield Road, Egremont, to Q. & C.A., $712,500.

FLORIDA

Gloria L. Serfillippi and Susan Britney sold property at 0 Mohawk Trail, Florida, to Michael G. George, $65,000.

Norbert and Mary Elizabeth Brown sold property at 110 Stryker Road, Florida, to Taylor Crichton, $169,000.

Hoosac Range LLC sold property at 136 Mohawk Trail, Florida, to Robert William and Chelsey Ryan Fitch, $200,000.

Gary and Kathleen Cafferelli sold property at 8 Monroe Road, Florida, to Hamilton Land Group LLC, $20,787.

Elizabeth M. Vareschi sold property at 4 Olson Road, Florida, to Troy and Courtney Hartlage, $310,000.

James M. Pedro sold property at 335 Mohawk Trail, Florida, to Pablo Herraiz Aguirre, $125,000.

Joanne Hofferman sold property at Route 2, Mohawk Trail, Florida, to James M. Pedro, $35,000.

GREAT BARRINGTON

Daniel M. Kasper and Sharon L. Kasper, trustees of Kingsmont II Real Estate Nominee Trust, sold property at 34 Bridge St., Unit 203, Great Barrington, to Estelle Miller, trustee of Estelle Miller Revocable Trust of 2007, $600,000.

Amy Townsend sold property at 296 North Plain Road, Great Barrington, to Eve Caimano, $465,000.

Eve M. Caimano sold property at 162 Christian Hill Road, Great Barrington, to Herbert W. Staniszewski and Kathleen T. Staniszewski, trustees of Herbert W. Staniszewski Revocable Trust and Kathleen T. Staniszewski Revocable Trust, $929,000.

Myrna Jargowsky sold property at 80 Taconic Ave., Unit 16, Oakwood Inn Condominium, Great Barrington, to Daniel Bailes and Sharon G. Ferguson, $565,000.

Michael Singer and Margaret F. Singer sold property at 10 South St., Great Barrington, to Ilana Siegal, $1,000,000.

Estate of Dorothy Jean Capasse sold property at 228 East St., Great Barrington, to Gilmore’s Berkshire LLC, $30,000.

David J. Ullrich and Cynthia J. Ullrich sold property at 10 Ramsey Ave., Great Barrington, to Melodie Rose MacNeil and Arthur Richard MacNeil III, $560,000.

HANCOCK

Denis S. McGann sold property at 37 Corey Road, Hancock, to Howard Greenspan, $120,000.

John M. and Mary Ruth Doyle sold property at Corey Road, Hancock, to Arlene M. DiLorenzo, $131,000.

Anthony C. and Donna E. Marinak sold property at Hancock Road, Hancock, to Michael A.G. and Jonalie J. Korengold, $250,000.

Andrew J. and Colleen M. O’Flaherty sold property at Corey Road, Unit 816, Hancock, to Brian and Leigh Cruickshank, $320,000.

Black Dog Family Properties LLC sold property at 106 Main St., Hancock, to Black Bear Holdings I LLC, $615,000.

New Timber LLC sold property at Off Bailey Road and Brodie Mountain Road, Hancock and Lanesborough, to Cricket Trails LLC, $2,000,000.

Jeffrey J. Pelinsky and Susan A. Cole sold property at Corey Road, Hancock, to RW Berkshires Investments LLC, $230,000.

Little Foot LLC sold property at 2399 Hancock Road, Hancock, to Maggie Meredith Anne Meehan and Cheryl Ann Remboldt, trustees of the Cheryl Ann Remboldt RVT, $342,000.

HINSDALE

Anthony P. Doyle, personal rep. of the Estate of Duane C. Goodrich, sold property at 39 Watson Road, Hinsdale, to Ashley R. Pollard and Jacob E. Drosehn, $310,000.

Ronald A. and Joan M. Smith, trustee, Smith FNT, sold property at 163 Lenore Drive, Hinsdale, to Neil B. and Michelle A. Pyser, $225,000.

Dale B. Prindle, trustee, Dale B. Prindle NT, sold property at Tamarack Point, Hinsdale, to Richard A. DeGiorgis, $89,137.

Dale B. Prindle, trustee, Dale B. Prindle NT, sold property at 79 Ashmere Road, Hinsdale, to Sharon L. DeGiorgis, $269,945.

Dale B. Prindle, trustee, Dale B. Prindle NT, sold property at Tamarack Point, Hinsdale, to Richard A. and Sharon L. DeGiorgis, $65,918.

Joan C. Dugway, trustee, Duguay FNT, sold property at 332 Longview Ave., Hinsdale, to Christopher W. and Juli Anne Atwood, $360,000.

LANESBOROUGH

Kurt S. Langenback sold property at 50 Prospect St., Lanesborough, to Ava Delevante-Atkinson and Leroy Atkinson, $60,000.

660 Cheshire Road LLC sold property at 660 Cheshire Road, Lanesborough, to V’S LLC, $250,000.

Mountain Stream LLC sold property at Miner Road, Lanesborough, to Keith L. and Paula E. Perry, trustees of the Perry Family NT, $71,500.

Dawn T. Leighfield sold property at 18 Glassworks Road, Lanesborough, to Jaime L. and James R. Cassavant, $128,175.81.

Antonino Garofalo and Wendy S. Frenkel

dba Ken’s Apartments sold property at 157 Old State Road, Lanesborough, to Springtown Realty LLC, $335,000.

Timothy Barnaby sold property at 23 Wabasso St., Lanesborough, to Paul J. and Suzanne H. Siebert, trustees of the Siebert Community Property Trust, $10,000.

Norman A. and Colleen M. Leitch sold

property at 580 South Main St., Building 2, Unit 9, Lanesborough, to Colleen E. Doyle, $150,000.

LEE

George H. Fleischner, trustee, George H. Fleischner RVT, sold property at 245 Spring St., Lee, to Conor D. Clark and Molly C. Callahan, $160,000.

HLP Realty Holdings LLC sold property at 20 Washington Mountain Road, Lee, to Heather A. Foster, $280,000.

Marian Missionaries of Divine Mercy sold property at 1530 Pleasant St., Lee, to Danielle Villetto, $650,000.

Marvin and Susan Berenblum sold property at 770 Summer St., Lee, to Michael D. and Alisa M. Robinson, $600,000.

HLP Realty Holdings LLC sold property at 491 Chapel St., Lee, to Isaac B. and Cassidy A. Lewis-Share, $282,000.

Anneke Leffel and James Harter sold property at 182 West Park St., Lee, to Leah F. Smith and Mary E. Fergus, $560,000. U.S. Bank Trust N.A., trustee, Great Lake Funding I Trust and Cross Development Berkshires LLC, sold property at 110 Maple St., Lee, to Great Lake Funding I Trust, $208,762.50.

Lauren Bolte Long, trustee, Long Family RVT, sold property at 830 Greylock St., Lee, to Jarett A. and Abigail L. Mello, $425,000.

Jarett A. and Abigail L. Mello sold property at 40 Debra Ave., Lee, to Lloyd Moss and Ana Lim, $380,000.

LENOX

Charles S. Merritt sold property at 94-100 Church St., Lenox, to Frank and Anne Mourier-Defalco, $857,000.

Joseph D. and Samantha L. Burke sold property at 10 Catherine St., Lenox, to James DA Harwood and Georgianne Valli-Harwood, $300,000.

Todd M. Meaney, personal rep. of the Estate of Robert G. Meaney, sold property at 120 Roaring Brook Road, Lenox, to Shaun R. Meaney, $420,000.

Estelle Miller, trustee, Estelle Miller RVT of 2007, sold property at 61 Bramble Lane, Lenox, to Eric J. Brenner and Yuki A. Hirose, $1,125,000.

Harry and Stephanie Bruder sold property at 15 Blossom Hill, Lenox, to Charles L. Huisking and Jeffrey Sebeika, $1,925,000. Robert Steinberg sold property at 801 East St., Lenox, to Steven David and Stacy Needell, $1,895,018.

Laura Fidler, trustee, Fidler Fairwynds NT, sold property at 47 Fairwynds Drive, Lenox, to Elizabeth Heit Gaberman, trustee, Heitgabe RT, $1,675,000.

North Sandy Brook LLC sold property at 80 Church St., Lenox, to AMICI Realty LLC, $625,000.

Janet Pomerantz sold property at 260 Pittsfield Road, Lenox, to Jeanne E. Baccoli, $148,000.

MONTEREY

James J. Phelan sold property at 29 Swann Road, Monterey, to William D. Schillinger and Elizabeth Rose, $280,000.

Daniel L. Kurtz and Elizabeth Olofson sold property at Route 23, Main Road, Monterey, to Daniel L. Kurtz and Shveta Kakar Kurtz, $350,000.

Susan H. Leprevost sold property at Main Road, Route 23, Monterey, to William J. Gould Associates Inc., $50,000.

Peter O. Bodnar and Robin M. Weiser sold property at 148 Stevens Lake Way, Monterey, to Timothy J. Aluise and Amy S. Friend, $2,400,000.

Transactions

Lisa M. Greene sold property at 39 Bidwell Road, Monterey, to Janine S. Begasse, $1,400,000.

NEW ASHFORD

Jon-Joe M. and Michelle M. Filiault sold property at 42 Mountain Pond Lane, New Ashford, to Ryley and Heidi J. Hartzell Gaudreau, $650,000.

NEW MARLBOROUGH

Sylvia Khatcherian and Lena Khatchreian, trustees of Khatcherian Nominee Realty Trust, sold property at 227 Konkapot Road, New Marlborough, to Katherine Becker McLoughlin, $1,200,000.

Estate of David Herrick sold property at 746 Brewer Hill Road, New Marlborough, to David Madow and Patricia Lee Salzmann-Madow, $390,000.

NORTH ADAMS

Aaron M. and Kaori Mazzrillo sold property at 65 Quincy St., North Adams, to Enasin LLC, Nathanel First, Aviva and David Humphrey, $159,000.

Matthew Bird, trustee of the Betty F. Belding Trust, sold property at 79 Brooklyn St., North Adams, to Brittian Francisco, $145,000.

David B. Cellana and Cynthia Van Steemburg sold property at 193 Whitney Sand Bed Road and River Street Extension, North Adams, to Centerville Sticks LLC, $250,000.

Ellen Millard, trustee of Deep Realty Trust XV, sold property at 128 Union St., North Adams, to Union ST NA LLC, $45,000.

Eric R. Reinemann and Colleen A. Rafferty sold property at 70 Notch Road, North Adams, to Christopher M. Voss and Amanda L. Egan Poirier, $265,000.

Michael P. Guerino, Kristy A. Guerino and Melissa G. Shea sold property at 25 Maple St., North Adams, to Jacob M. Coury, $255,000.

Shaun Richard sold property at 11 Goodrich St., North Adams, to Aprilyn Carsno, $134,000.

Leisa M. Superneau sold property at 153155 Veazie St., North Adams, to D&B Real Estate Ventures LLC, $130,000.

Lawrence J. Smith Jr. and Aprilyn Carsno sold property at 58-60 Chase Ave., North Adams, to Kumi Ishizawa, $195,000.

Katherine Waldman Madrigal and Jose Norberto Madrigal Castro sold property at 19 North Church St., Unit 11, North Adams, to Alexander L. and Susan M. Daugherty, $89,000.

James M. Pedro, trustee of 18 Whitcomb Hill Road Trust, sold property at State Street, North Adams, to Living Hope Community Church, $10,000.

James M. Pedro sold property at 455 State St., North Adams, to Living Hope Community Church, $40,000.

MTGLQ Investors L.P. sold property at 72 Winter St., North Adams, to Marie Carnegie, $89,000.

William C. Cate Jr. sold property at 6 Overlook Terrace, North Adams, to Nathan G. and Migdeliz Girard, co-trustees of the Nathan and Migdeliz Girard Living Trust, $70,000.

Myles B. Corey sold property at 458 West Main St., North Adams, to David Lemaire, $29,900.

Nathanel First sold property at 62-64 Bracewell Ave., North Adams, to GFY Enterprises MA LLC, $55,000.

Deborah J. Benoit, personal rep. of Shirley Jean Lee, sold property at 160 Richview Ave., North Adams, to Iain T. Springer, $145,000.

Linda Taylor, personal rep. of Roland Bouchard, sold property at 344-346 Union St., North Adams, to LND Investments

LLC, $54,500.

Christos Athanasiou and Jonus Ademovic sold property at 460-466 Church St., North Adams, to Jennifer Y. Wood, $10,000.

Abishour Equities LLC sold property at 131 Woodlawn Ave., North Adams, to Joshua M. and Lyn E. Gallagher, $349,900.

NRT Realty LLC sold property at Main Street and 80 Rear Main St., North Adams, to North Adams Realty LLC, $1,750,000.

Allison L. Shartrand, personal rep. of Lynne Marie Lescarbeau, sold property at 21 Ray St., North Adams, to Wendy Sue Chisholm, $108,000.

Carrie and Michael P. Laird sold property at 128 Pleasant St., North Adams, to Percy Angress and Livia Linden, $245,000.

OTIS

Patricia Louise Conrad Sandler, Joseph Herman Jr., Patrick Kevin Conrad, and Joanna Lynn Conrad Beck, individually and as trustees, Conrad FT, sold property at 1722 East Otis Road, Otis, to APIF-Massachusetts LLC, $490,000.

Waterfall Victoria Grantor Trust II, Series G, and Donald L. and Kathleen I. Rider sold property at 1156 Monterey Road, Otis, to WF Master REO II LLC, $220,000.

Ellies Holdings LLC sold property at 713 East Otis Road, Otis, to Nathan P. Grenier, $212,000.

Jeffrey Lee Gamelli sold property at 37 Pike Road, Otis, to Krystal Crowe, $410,000.

Kevin M. Rocke sold property at 129 West Shore Road, Otis, to Jax Properties LLC, $600,000.

Michael and Nancy Moody sold property at 40 Moody Goodman Road, Otis, to Susan Webster and Richard and Robert Smith, $280,000.

PITTSFIELD

Lane Grogan sold property at 52 Orlando Ave., Pittsfield, to McKenzi Powell and Trevor Bonadies, $215,000.

U.S. Bank Trust N.A., trustee, Great Lake Funding I Trust, and Cross Development Berkshires LLC sold property at 308-310 West St., Pittsfield, to Great Lake Funding I Trust, $153,092.50.

Bespoke Capital LLC sold property at 123125 Onota St., Pittsfield, to Alberto Ramon Coronel and Daiana Cecilia Diaz Gonzalez, $270,000.

Bespoke Capital LLC sold property at 44-46 Henry Ave., Pittsfield, to Anderson Santiago and Guzman Delgado, $290,000.

Adeline K. Burnick sold property at 159 Ridgeway Ave., Pittsfield, to Michelle L. Little, $270,000.

Thomas H. Donovan sold property at 102-104 Merriam St., Pittsfield, to Smegal Holdings LLC, $155,000.

Peter and Nancy Kennedy sold property at 22 Dickinson Ave., Pittsfield, to Monique H. Delmolino and Mark Corley, $235,000.

Mountain Stream LLC sold property at Churchill Street, Pittsfield, to Grace Gathoni Kamau, $55,000.

Patrick J. Geary sold property at 101 Gamwell Ave., Pittsfield, to Sylvia A. Lizotte, $308,000.

Monique H. Delmolino sold property at 105 Boylston St. Extension, Pittsfield, to Nancy L. Hall, $190,400.

Mountain Stream LLC sold property at Churchill Street, Pittsfield, to Kenneth Gachia Njuguna and Teresia Wambui Kariuki, $55,000.

HLP Realty Holdings LLC sold property at 11 Norman Ave., Pittsfield, to Ethan James and Kellie Stalker, $245,000.

Sean and Alison Quinones Johnson sold property at 50 Plumb St., Pittsfield, to Jem Ezingayaiwong, $240,000.

Giuseppina Ruberto, trustee, Ruberto FNT, sold property at 43 Leona Drive, Pittsfield,

to Patrick and Emily Geary, $300,000.

Blessing Realty Inc. sold property at 717 Crane Ave., Pittsfield, to ServiceNet Inc., $600,000.

U.S. Bank Trust N.A, trustee, Great Lake

Funding I Trust and Cross Development

Berkshires LLC, sold property at 22-24 Crosier Ave., Pittsfield, to Great Lake Funding I Trust, $142,837.50.

U.S. Bank Trust N.A., trustee, Great Lake

Funding I Trust and Cross Development

Berkshires LLC, sold property at 86-88 Madison Ave., Pittsfield, to Great Lake Funding I Trust, $139,175.

Susan W. Gagnon, personal rep. of the Estate of Richard H. Coleman, sold property at 250 Lebanon Ave., Pittsfield, to Angela R. Difilippo, $220,000.

PennyMac Loan Services LLC sold property at 15 Buel St., Pittsfield, to 20 Gregory Farm LLC, $140,000.

Jan Harrington Sparks, Jyl Eileen Harrington and Joy Harrington Kennedy sold property at 24 Rockland Drive, Pittsfield, to Stephen F. Narey, trustee, 24 Rockland Drive Nominee Trust, $427,000.

Corey A. and Stephanie A. Aiello sold property at 49-51 Longfellow Ave., Pittsfield, to Joseph Botto and Lindsay Cavanauagh, $280,000.

William and Nancy Moskalski sold property at 1189 West St., Pittsfield, to Nancy Ruth Hochu-Oliveira, $234,000.

Ariel Salzmann, personal rep. of the Estate of Audrey J. Salzmann, sold property at 24 Ann Drive, Pittsfield, to Clinical & Support Options Inc., $440,000.

Kowalczyk Development Corp. sold property at 26 Aspen Way, Pittsfield, to Jill A. Wollins, trustee, Jill A. Wollins RVT, $943,230.73.

Wells Fargo Bank N.A., trustee, Option One Mortgage Loan Trust 2005-5, sold property at 2-4 Cherry St., Pittsfield, to Luciane Thibes, $111,000.

Patricia Duffy-Brown, trustee, Thomas

Francis Duffy Jr. and Mary Mildred Duffy

FT, sold property at 161 Sherwood Drive, Pittsfield, to John G. Burns, $335,000.

Giro Richard Samale sold property at 142 Jason St., Pittsfield, to Bernhard and Susan K. Handau, $285,000.

U.S. Bank Trust NA, trustee, Great Lake

Funding I Trust and Cross Development

Berkshires LLC, sold property at 32 Westminster St., Pittsfield, to Great Lake

Funding I Trust, $186,714.25.

U.S. Bank Trust NA, trustee, Great Lake

Funding I Trust and Cross Development Berkshires LLC, sold property at 1159-1161 North St., Pittsfield, to Great Lake Funding I Trust, $123,060.

Churchill Street Realty LLC sold property at 280 West St., Pittsfield, to Julia Roberta Rubiano, $290,000.

Robert F. Jakubowicz sold property at 88 Northumberland Road, Pittsfield, to Michael T. and Ashleigh G. Doyle, $245,000.

LND Investments LLC sold property at 217 Jason St., Pittsfield, to Eric Howard Latimer Jr. and Kim Whitehouse, $265,000.

4G Realty Holdings LLC sold property at 392 Merrill Road, Pittsfield, to Puttick Enterprises LLC, $415,000.

Charles Ivar Kronick sold property at 96 Windsor Ave., Pittsfield, to John Henry Harris, $230,500.

Dean Dimassimo, trustee, Dean Dimassimo LT, sold property at 27-29 Reuter Ave., Pittsfield, to Juan Pablo Diaz Rivera and Silvia E. Gonzales De Diaz, $292,000.

U.S. Bank Trust N.A., trustee, Great Lake

Funding I Trust and Cross Development

Berkshires LLC, sold property at 18-20

Elizabeth St., Pittsfield, to Great Lake

Funding I Trust, $180,121.75.

U.S. Bank Trust N.A., trustee, Great Lake

Funding I Trust and Cross Development

Berkshires LLC, sold property at 456-458 Fenn St., Pittsfield, to Great Lake Funding I

Trust, $311,092.75.

NAV Holdings LLC sold property at 351 West St., Pittsfield, to Boris S. and Diana G. Lemus Diaz, $272,500.

Berkshire Lake House LLC sold property at 6 East Alford St., Pittsfield, to William and Kathleen Todd, $360,000.

William P. and Kathleen M. Todd sold property at 23 Day St., Pittsfield, to Logan Crosier and Shelby Dempsey, $241,000.

Joseph E. and Kathleen C. Tournier sold property at Lakeway Drive, Pittsfield, to Thomas A. Arasimowicz and Cheryl Furtek, $35,000.

Karen M. Barry and Linda Supranowicz sold property at 83 Elaine Drive, Pittsfield, to Amanda Gaudet and William Stalcup III, $309,900.

Paula M. Walczyk and John J. Kelly, personal reps. of the estate of Phyllis Marie Kelly, sold property at 178 California Ave., Pittsfield, to John Fenwick and James L. Wallace, $225,000.

Angela J. Borden and Thomas R. Lynch sold property at 99 Lyman St., Pittsfield, to George Whaling, trustee, 99 Lyman Street NRT, $112,500.

Daniel D. Amuso, trustee, Amuso Family NT, sold property at 811 Churchill St., Pittsfield, to Jessie Underwood-Miller and Jamie L. Amuso, $300,000.

Eric M. and Leslie E. Slocum sold property at 84-86 Howard St., Pittsfield, to Roseann A. and Joseph Paris, $255,000.

Harry Chandler, Judith Gelpi-Chandler and Jason Shepard sold property at 28 Bryant St., Pittsfield, to Michelle Martinson, $308,998.97.

Jessica D. Thoresen sold property at 14 Clifford St., Pittsfield, to Sharon Santana Jimenez, $180,000.

James S. Adamson III and Rosalie W. Adamson sold property at 5-15 Edward Ave., Pittsfield, to Gianokakis LLC, $900,000.

Angel Espinoza-Jimenez sold property at 29 Church St., Pittsfield, to Four Towers LLC, $210,000.

RICHMOND

Berkshire Community Church Inc. sold property at 45 Cemetery Road, Richmond, to Claryn Properties LLC, $250,000.

Alan S. Schonfeld sold property at 51 Cherry Road, Richmond, to Consoli Real Estate LLC, $575,000.

SANDISFIELD

Arthur J. Susser and Saundra B. Susser sold property at 0 Perry Road, Sandisfield, to David Susser and Marla Susser, $39,500.

Judith Mutch sold property at Sequena Drive, Sandisfield, to Ciaran Paul Doyle and Tanya Michele Doyle, $40,000. Estate of James A. Ezequelle and Kimberly A. Eisenlohr sold property at 165 Sandisfield Road, Sandisfield, to CJCL Realty LLC, $120,000.

SAVOY

Paul J. and Lorraine J. Hartnett sold property at 565 New State Road, Savoy, to Christodora Inc., $329,900.

Sheffield

Thomas E. Whaley sold property at 508 Polikoff Road, Sheffield, to Michael J. Ross and Annmarie Ross, $525,000.

Jeffrey S. Rote and Bryan A. Rote sold property at 15 Home Road, Sheffield, to Peter J. Batacchi, $285,000.

Scott D. Ryder sold property at 125 East Main St., Sheffield, to Neftali Bautista Cruz and Laura Lopez Jimenez, $299,900.

STOCKBRIDGE

Nicholas Perri Delfino and Melissa Ann Nollstadt sold property at 5 Cherry Hill Road, Stockbridge, to Michael and Christine Chiappinelli, $595,000.

Jordan and Lloyd Moss sold property at

TRANSACTIONS, Page 21

Transactions

FROM PAGE 20

2 Meadow Road, Stockbridge, to Sergiu Catalin Vlad and Kaitlin Ann Perrelly, $630,000.

25 Park Street House LLC sold property at 25 Park St., Stockbridge, to Blackwater Realty LLC, $185,000.

William Talbot sold property at 3 Pixley Hill Road, Stockbridge, to Joanne and Benjamin L. Ginsberg, $320,000.

Emily H. Mekler sold property at 7 Birch Lane, Stockbridge, to Edward and Marcy Berger, $510,000.

First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Stockbridge, sold property at 1 and 2 Main St., Stockbridge, to Berkshire Waldorf High School Inc., $250,000.

WASHINGTON

Raymond J. Cook Jr. sold property at Schulze Road, Washington, to Lyndsey A. Walsh, $30,000.

William D. Cawley sold property at South Washington State Road, Washington, to Glenda Boykin and Gail Boykin-Brown, $84,500.

WEST STOCKBRIDGE

WALM LLC sold property at 3-5 Center St., West Stockbridge, to Pagliari LLC, $650,000.

Siri R. Sakkaf, trustee of Sakkaf Family Realty Trust, sold property at 1 Furnace Road, West Stockbridge, to German Kroytor and Nicole C. Kroytor, $625,000.

WILLIAMSTOWN

Ellen Story sold property at 76 Luce Road, Williamstown, to Erin M. Scott and John M. Cellana, $150,000.

160 Water LLC sold property at 160 Water St, Unit 214, Williamstown, to Martin C. Mitsoff and Brece V. Honeycutt, $515,000.

Philip J. and Marynelle H. Spear sold property at 475 Oblong Road, Williamstown, to Steven R. and Stacia M. Goddard Botto, $1,100,000.

Guy R. and Suzanne A. Shepherd sold property at 1454 Cold Spring Road, Williamstown, to Robert A. and Cathleen M. Barenski, $74,000.

Steven Dean and Jennifer Wingate sold property at 104 Candlewood Drive, Williamstown, to Brahim El Guabli and Shaina Adams-El Guabli, $625,000.

Gregory P. Howard and Anna G. Moriarty Lev sold property at 52 Maple St., Wil-

liamstown, to Nikolaos John Tombras and Caitlin Rose Woolsey, $325,000.

Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity Inc. sold property at 14 Maple St., Williamstown, to Adam J. and Kristina M. Baker, $147,000.

WINDSOR

Gerald E. Roberts sold property at 1496 North St., Windsor, to Nicole M. Wallace, $495,000.

David M. and Stefanie A. Wondriska Clark sold property at 145 Pierce Road, Windsor, to Kenneth J. and Kelly Anne M.

Recore, $30,000.

FT — Family Trust

LLC — Limited Partnership

LT — Life Trust

NT — Nominee Trust

RET — Real Estate Trust

RT — Realty Trust

RVT — Revocable Trust

The real estate transactions are provided by the Middle Berkshire, North Berkshire and South Berkshire Registry of Deeds offices.

FILE PHOTO

People in the Berkshires

Richard Slutzky, of Egremont, has been elected president of Barrington Stage Company’s board of trustees. He succeeds Marita Glodt, who had served in that role for 11 years.

Slutzky retired in 2018 after working for 20 years at Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and U.S. Trust, most recently as director of institutional sales. For 13 years he was the first vice president and senior philanthropic consultant for the Merrill Lynch Center for Philanthropic and Nonprofit Management. He consulted with public charities and private foundations in the South Florida, Metropolitan New York and Northeast regions.

Prior to joining Merrill Lynch and moving to the private sector, Slutzky was the executive director of the Jewish Community Foundation of Metrowest New Jersey. Previously he served as director of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City after having practiced law there for five years.

He also serves as a member of the boards of the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires and Adamah, a national environmental organization, where he

from New York City and is now living permanently in the region.

Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending Donna Palma has retired from Adams Community Bank. Tracy McConnell has been promoted to succeed her in that position.

After a career in banking spanning 47 years, Palma has been an integral part of the company’s leadership team since March 2013, when she joined the bank, bringing her expertise, dedication and leadership.

Palma is a past member of numerous boards, including 1Berkshire, the Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center, and the Pittsfield Rotary Club.

McConnell joined the bank three years ago with 25 years of experience in the industry. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and received her Master of Banking diploma from Stonier Nation Graduate School of Banking at the University of Pennsylvania.

Fernandez, who served as a volunteer at VIM Berkshires the past year, is president and CEO of Crosby Street Consultants, a communications and public affairs consultancy. He has more than 30 years’ experience in providing communications and public affairs expertise to corporate and nonprofit clients both in the U.S. and Latin America.

He also served in leadership roles at several leading global communications agencies, including Burson-Marsteller and APCO Worldwide. A graduate of Amherst College and the school of public and international affairs at Princeton University, Fernandez moved to the Berkshires four years ago

SolaBlock, a construction and clean-tech startup company with dual headquarters at the Berkshire Innovation Center and in Troy, N.Y., has named John O’Connor as chair of the board of directors.

O’Connor has more than three decades’ experience developing and producing high-reliability power conversion products for renewable and distributed energy, heavy-duty commercial vehicle, and semiconductor markets.

In 1997, he co-founded Oztek Corp. to produce custom power conversion solutions for original equipment manufacturers. More recently, he shifted company focus to standard power conversion products and established Oztek as a leading battery inverter supplier for commercial and industrial energy storage applications. O’Connor served as CEO until 2023, when Oztek was sold to Trystar LLC.

To learn more about SolaBlock, visit solablock.com.

Branden Huldeen, artistic producer/associate artistic director for Barrington Stage Company, has been appointed to serve on the board of the National Alliance of Musical Theatre.

Since its founding in 1985, the NAMT has been a catalyst for nurturing musical theater development, production, innovation and collaboration through festivals, conferences, granting programs, and many other

initiatives that serve the musical theater community.

Huldeen joined Barrington Stage in 2016 as a member of the artistic team. He has been associated with NAMT since 2008, initially as a staff member and then as a committee member.

He has served as the new works director and festival producing director at the NAMT, where he produced the Festival of New Musicals, launched the National Fund for New Musicals and grants for writers, and consulted on, spoke about and advocated for new works development internationally.

A Pittsfield resident, Huldeen is the board president of Downtown Pittsfield Inc.

Greylock Federal Credit Union has appointed Brett Random to its volunteer board of directors.

tion Commission employment services programs. She will also support the department’s direct support professionals and the agency’s social enterprise, the BFAIR Bottle & Can Redemption Center on Mass Avenue.

Lysko joined BFAIR in 2013 and has gained a wide range of experience in various departments, including employment, day habilitation, and residential services. In 2020, Lysko was promoted to the position of residential house manager. With 10 years of experience exemplifying a solid commitment to the people served, she was the ideal candidate for promotion to assistant director of DDS residential services.

BFAIR has provided adult family care, residential, clinical, employment and day services for adults with developmental disabilities, acquired brain injury and autism since 1994.

Adams Community Bank has promoted seven employees to management-level positions.

A Pittsfield resident, Random is the executive director for Berkshire County Head Start and a certified parent educator.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies: children, families and society from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts; a master’s degree in social work from Westfield State University; and a certificate in organizational leadership from Harvard Business School.

Random also is a 2018 recipient of the 40 Under Forty Award from Berkshire Community College.

She volunteers with various organizations, including the city of Pittsfield’s advisory council for the American Rescue Plan Act, Department of Transitional Assistance advisory committee and the Department of Children and Families advisory board.

She has previously served as a mentor for the Rites of Passage and Empowerment Program and as a committee member for the Berkshire Compact for Education Committee.

Random Harpin

Berkshire Family and Individual Resources has promoted Deb Harpin to assistant director of employment services, and Savannah Lysko to assistant director of department of developmental services residential services. Harpin, who has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills through her work quality, decision-making abilities and positive interactions with staff and clients since joining BFAIR, is now taking on an advanced role as assistant director of employment services.

As part of her new role, Harpin will oversee the employment services department and manage all programs, including department of developmental services and Massachusetts Rehabilita-

Tess Sorrentino has been promoted to senior vice president and chief financial officer. Since beginning her banking career with the bank 21 years ago, she has held roles as vice president/ compliance officer and vice president of accounting. In 2021, she was promoted to vice president/accounting and controller. She then took on the additional responsibilities of the chief financial officer in 2022.

Samantha Tanner has been promoted to vice president/marketing and digital strategy. Tanner joined the bank in February 2021 as the assistant vice president/branch officer in Williamstown and digital branch manager. She has been in banking for 18 years. She will assume overall responsibility for marketing effective July 2024.

Emma Tower has been promoted to vice president/mortgage operations manager. She began her banking career with the company 18 years ago, earning various promotions over the years, including that of a retail loan officer, assistant vice president/underwriting and processing officer.

Jolene Racine has been promoted to assistant vice president/deposit operations. Racine started her career with the company 18 years ago. A majority of her career has been with the deposit operations department in varied roles with increasing responsibility.

Julie Zdon has been promoted to assistant vice president/branch officer. She began her career with the company in 2021 as the branch officer of the Cheshire branch. In April 2022, Zdon transferred to the new Pittsfield branch as the branch officer. In March 2023, she added the Great Barrington branch to her oversight. Zdon has 18 years of banking experience.

Jay Ogle has been promoted to assistant vice president/business development officer. Ogle began his career with the bank in May 2022 as a business banking development officer. He has been in the banking industry for 10 years.

Jeremy Patterson has been promoted to assistant vice president/

PEOPLE, Page 23

Slutzky

Fernandez

Palma

O’Connor

Huldeen

Lysko

FROM PAGE 23

Kuta

technology officer. Patterson began his career with the company in 2017 as system administrator/help desk. In 2019, he was promoted to network & systems officer, with a title change in 2023 to network & infrastructure officer. ServiceNet, a large mental health and human services agency based in Northampton and serving all four counties of Western Massachusetts, recently welcomed Michael Kuta as vice president of strategy and program development.

Kuta comes to his new role following 16 years at Baystate Noble Hospital in Westfield, where he gained a diverse portfolio of progressive management experience. Most

recently, he served as the hospital’s manager of operations for behavioral health and cardiac services, a position he assumed soon after the start of the pandemic. Prior to 2020, Kuta had been a supervisor in the Partial Hospitalization Program, and before that a behavioral health patient flow coordinator.

Kuta’s path to leadership began at Elms College in Chicopee, where he shifted his major from accounting to psychology and sociology before graduating in 2007. This merging of skills and interests further came together when he pursued a master’s in health care administration while working his way toward certification as a licensed social work associate.

In his first month at ServiceNet, Kuta has met with leaders and staff in departments and programs across the agency to discuss what is going well, what could use tuning up, and opportunities they see for further growth, development, and community partnerships.

ServiceNet operates Pittsfield’s yearround shelter, The Pearl, at 21 Pearl St. The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center appointed four new officers to its board of directors at the end of 2023. The new officers are Peter J. Most, Ted Stephens III, Ronald Frohne and Jamie DuMont

Most is a complex business litigator, starting his career at Paul Hastings law firm in Los Angeles and then practicing for 25 years with a group of attorneys that formed what would become a 50-attorney complex litigation and bankruptcy boutique law firm. He is a member of the Great Barrington Zoning Board of Appeals, and he is also a columnist for the Berkshire Edge.

Stephens is a co-founder and principal of The Numad Group, a fundraising, communication, strategic planning, and program evaluation consulting firm that works exclusively with arts, education and immediate need-serving nonprofits across the country. He is a Stockbridge resident

with a home in Manhattan as well.

A lawyer, Frohne joined the international law firm Nörr, Stiefenhofer & Lutz in 1977, where he became a partner in 1980. Since March 1997, he has taught media law as an honorary professor at the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen Konrad Wolf in Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany. He resides in New York City as a partner at Nörr’s New York office. He sits on the board of several national and international companies and on the board of Berkshire Film & Media Collaborative.

Producer DuMont has an extensive background in Broadway marketing and high-level event planning and production. He and his business partner, Rob Russo, brought “Call Fosse at the Minskoff” to the Mahaiwe in 2022. He has homes in New York City and Hillsdale, N.Y., and has served on the Mahaiwe’s Gala Committee for the last three years.

For information, visit mahaiwe.org.