The split screen of the debate was priceless: Trump spewing nonsense, a perpetual scowl on his face, and Harris gazing at him in wonder and amusement as he set a match to his candidacy.
Now that the model units are open, Benchmark Development principal Charles said he expects to reconnect with prior contacts and hold regular open houses.
The town expects to have the north side of Railroad Street "buttoned up," including the installation of bases for decorative light poles, by the end of this week.
The Eagle Mill project reached perhaps its most important milestone last month when local and state officials, including Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, visited the mill to announce a $4.9 million MassWorks Infrastructure Program grant to upgrade water lines and support residential and commercial development.
The goal is to get the new building completely framed out and roofed so that, by the dead of winter, workers can focus on the interior if the weather prohibits outside activity.
"We're designing a similar project to the one in Great Barrington. Downtown Lee is like Great Barrington's. It's a vibrant New England downtown. It's where people want to live."
-- Michael Charles of Benchmark Development
100 Bridge Street has been delayed to the point that the $1 million that would have been used to pay for the burial of overhead utilities is in danger of lapsing when the grant expires at the end of June 2019.
These projects will change the face of the Bridge Street corridor, coming as they do on the heels of the redevelopment of the former Bryant Elementary School by Iredale Mineral Cosmetics Inc.
The Coop has never missed a financial obligation in its 35-year-plus history.
“When you invest in the Coop, you are investing in the community.”
-- Berkshire Coop General Manager Daniel Esko
Developers Michael Charles and Brian Cohan are still due for their site plan review at the planning board and will continue to work with the historical commission. They will also collaborate with the town on a number of conditions attached to the permit. The Powerhouse Square project is expected to break ground by summer.
According to the Berkshire Co-op Market's general manager Daniel Esko, if the store has to leave the downtown to expand, both the town and its residents would lose a valuable resource.
Wheeler & Taylor owns the building and the bank on the corner of Bridge and Main streets, and construction may block access to a 30-foot right of way that it was deeded access to.
It was a messy night at Town Hall. In the end, Benchmark Development got a green light to proceed with its plans to design a second building planned for a parcel on the historic Searles Castle property.
Benchmark's principals had informally brought the plans to the Historic District Commission meeting and were met by the reality that the land parcel’s proximity to Searles Castle and its carriage house may raise some hoops to jump through.
The chemical perchloroethylene, a known carcinogen and hormone disrupter, is “isolated to a small area in the building,” Benchmark Development's Michael Charles said, adding that the contamination was not found in the groundwater.
