GREAT BARRINGTON — If taxpayers approve it at the annual town meeting in June, eight Great Barrington organizations will receive more than $1.1 million from the town Community Preservation Committee, or nearly double what was awarded last year.
The Great Barrington Community Preservation Committee (CPC) voted at its Tuesday, Jan. 25 meeting to fund all nine of the Step 2 applications remaining to the tune of $1,167,000. Most were either unanimous or near-unanimous votes from the committee, chairman Tom Blauvelt said in an interview today.
Perhaps the most notable project is the proposed historic preservation of 343 Main Street, which currently houses the South County branch of Berkshire Community College, as well as offices for the dental care practice of Community Health Programs (CHP).
That project, proposed by the Alander Group and principal Ian Rasch, will cost an estimated $5.25 million, $250,000 of which will be paid for with a CPC grant. The total price tag, which includes $1.35 million spent by Alander on the acquisition of the property, also includes $3.15 million in private financing from Lee Bank and $500,000 from Mass Development’s underutilized properties program.
Rasch, along with Sam Nickerson, was the successful developer of 47 Railroad Street and later attempted to develop an apartment complex at Manville Place, off of South Main Street. That project was abandoned after Rasch and the town lost a two-year legal battle waged by neighbors in state Land Court.
Click here to see the proposal approved by the CPC. The building is a two-story, 22,000-square-foot former auto dealership that sits on the east side of Main Street between Wheeler & Taylor and the edge of the Searles Castle property.
In addition to improving the building for the existing tenants, plans call for a “Sustainable Food Lab and Community Health and Wellness Center,” as well as offices for Volunteers In Medicine (VIM) and a new pharmacy for Berkshire Health Systems.
The name of the food lab, which will occupy the currently vacant historic storefronts and public-facing portions of the first floor, Rasch said, will be Sustainable Food Lab Berkshires, “a newly formed group dedicated to creating sustainable local food systems and encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship.”
“This mix of tenants will create new job opportunities as well as retain existing jobs, develop and expand a forum for equitable job training and skills development, and increase wellness access for the region,” Rasch said in his application.
The 343 Main Street building is joined at the hip with the long-closed Carpenter’s Variety building, which included a gas station and later became The Deli and the Hong Kong Buffet. Carpenter’s closed in 1986, but the site is polluted with leaked petroleum and is awaiting a clean-up plan. Rasch’s development does not include that troubled building.
Blauvelt said a key question on the applications and one of the first questions the committee asks at its meeting when applicants make their pitch is whether the project has any other sources of funding. As noted above, Alander had several others.
“It’s pretty ambitious. These guys have a great track record,” Blauvelt said, referring to 47 Railroad Street.
This year, the CPC approved seven other new projects for funding. Click on the descriptions of individual projects to see detailed proposals:
Town of GB – Affordable Housing Trust Fund – $200,000
Construct, Inc. – Eagle Cliff apartments – $50,000
CDC of South Berkshire – Berkshire Cottages Predevelopment – $350,000
Ian Rasch – 343 Main Street Historic Repairs and Restoration – $250,000
Town of GB – Castle Street Pedestrian Underpass, Phase 1 – $25,000
Town of GB – Memorial Field Improvements – $250,000
Town of GB – Lake Mansfield Aquatic Vegetation Assessment – $7,000
Town of GB – McAllister Wildlife Refuge – $35,000
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TOTAL: $1,167,000
The state Community Preservation Act is a voluntary state law that allows municipalities to fund projects that support open space preservation, affordable housing, historic preservation, and the creation of recreational resources.
In Great Barrington’s case, applications must also be consistent with the town’s award-winning 2013 master plan. The town adopted the CPA in 2012, both through town meeting and a ballot vote, by a two-thirds majority.
The CPA also provides for a significant annual contribution of state funds to each participating municipality through the Massachusetts Community Preservation Trust Fund.
The state’s contribution varies but, on the local level, the CPA is funded by a three-percent property-tax surcharge on the value of residential and commercial properties above the first $100,000 of assessed value. Great Barrington expects to raise about $350,000 locally each year.
According to the Community Preservation Coalition, 187 municipalities in the state — or more than half — have adopted the CPA. To date, 243 Massachusetts communities have voted on CPA adoption. Of those, 53 percent of the state’s 351 municipalities have passed the CPA, representing a 76 percent adoption success rate.
