Great Barrington — The nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire announced on Wednesday, November 30 that they have entered into a purchase and sales agreement with the current owners of the building known as the Marble Block.
The building is located from 268 to 278 Main Street and is a three-story mixed-use property that was built in 1902. According to the town’s property records, the building is currently owned by The Marble Block company, and there is no record of previous sales and purchases of the building.
The building itself was assessed last year at $1,287,500, with the 0.270 acres of land that it sits on at $185,600. According to organization representative Dana Rasso, the purchase and sales agreement for the building is $2,249,500.
Via email, Rasso wrote that the building currently has several residential and commercial tenants, including Gorham and Norton, Sette, David Gavin Salon, Sruti Yoga, and a law office, along with two vacant commercial spaces and eight residential units that are all occupied. “We would like to keep all of the current tenants in place,” Rasso wrote via email. “As the building is 120 years old, like much of the housing in Berkshire County, we’re already aware of some of the work that needs to be done and look forward to receiving the inspection report to give us greater detail. Right now, our goal is to maintain affordability and prevent displacement for residential and commercial tenants. Down the road, we will be renovating and upgrading the residential spaces in a way that will endeavor to minimize disruptions in the tenants’ lives. We don’t know yet what that will entail or what the permitting process will be.”
Organization Executive Director Carol Bosco Baumann told The Berkshire Edge that the building was inspected on November 30 and the organization is waiting to hear a full report before planning on any repairs or renovations. “We do anticipate that there will be some immediate needs for the building itself,” Baumann said. “It is an old building, but we’re going to wait to see what the main inspector will say after he’s done looking at the building.”
To purchase the building, the organization will be pursuing a fundraising drive to raise $1 million by December 31. Rasso wrote that the money raised will be used to secure the purchase of the building, along with stabilizing rent for tenants for a year and planning for necessary renovations. Baumann said that the organization will ask for funding from the town for the purchase of the building. “We are going to ask the town’s Affordable Housing Trust for $100,000 of support, and then we’ll be going back to the town to ask for some ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] funds, but we’re still trying to figure that out,” Baumann said. “If we don’t raise the money by December 31, I’m not so sure what will happen. If we can’t raise the money, then we can’t purchase the building. But I’m just thinking with the mindset that we have that we’re going to do it.”
The mission of the organization is to provide affordable housing and economic development opportunities for low- and moderate-income persons in the southern Berkshire region. Currently, the organization owns and operates Bentley Apartments at 100 Bridge Street which includes 45 new affordable housing units for low to moderate-income individuals and families. It is also working on the Windrush Commons housing complex at 910 Main Street, which will, when completed, include 49 affordable housing units.
Baumann said that there continues to be a great need for affordable housing in the area. “The waitlist at the Bentley Apartments complex is about 300 people,” she said. “It takes a while to work through the backlog because we have to go down the list. We see that there is a great need to build these larger affordable housing developments to serve very low-income and low- to moderate-income people in our community.”
Baumann said that representatives from the organization have met regularly with community representatives and other organizations to discuss affordable housing. “We meet regularly to find ways to solve this crisis,” she said. “I’m confident there is a way to solve these problems relating to affordable housing, but it’s going to take several different entities working together to solve it, including, private and public partnerships.”
Baumann added that the organization will soon start its fundraising campaign to purchase the Marble Block on its website.
