Don’t put these much-needed projects at risk. Please DO NOT vote to “pass over” or “take no action” on this CPA funding request, and please DO vote to approve Article #19, items 1 and 2.
Tag: Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire
Business Briefs: Race Brook Lodge quarantine program; small business survey; new Berkshire Music School executive director; new BCC faculty, staff
The survey will help CDCSB focus professional technical assistance to businesses where they most need it in order to weather the economic impact of the pandemic.
Business Briefs: Berkshire Paraphernalia Pack; virtual town hall; Williamstown Farmers Market online; Tree Seed Photo Challenge
Representing the community, public and private higher education sectors, the panel will share the impacts felt, tactics utilized and outlook ahead as it pertains to higher education in the Berkshires and beyond.
Business Briefs: CATA launches online programs; CDC awarded tax credits; BBG welcomes Turnbull; nonprofit workshops; PPP at Salisbury Bank
Gov. Charlie Baker recently awarded the Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire an allotment of the 2020 Community Investment Tax Credit Program in the amount of $150,000.
Affordable Housing Trust apologizes for lack of communication about development plan
If approved, the town wouldn’t close on the property until July. If taxpayers rejected the funding, then there would be no project at all, or the trust would have to identify another site.
With financing secured, 100 Bridge Street affordable housing project moves forward
The closing is the culmination of the complex funding process from 14 separate local, state, federal and private funding sources.
Affordable housing misconceptions addressed
In a letter to the editor, Jonathan Hankin writes, “The Trust has a binding purchase and sale agreement that is contingent upon approval of the funding for the purchase by the May Annual Town Meeting.”
Great Barrington’s cannabis quandary: What to do with that pot revenue?
Proposals for how to use the cannabis revenue windfall will be discussed by the selectboard and the finance committee in the upcoming deliberations for next year’s budget, with voters having the final say on how to spend free cash at the annual town meeting in May.
Housatonic School: Fact and fiction
The truth is that a mixed-use of affordable housing and commercial was and remains a viable option for Housatonic School.
Barrington panel eyes Housatonic School as site for office condos or child care
Economic development committee Chairman Steve Picheny wanted an update from town manager Mark Pruhenski on the environmental status of the building and then solicited thoughts from committee members about what uses they thought would suit the empty building.
Bits & Bytes: Woofstock 2019; Community at Bat; black history heritage hike; First Fridays Artswalk; adult education classes
The Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire will hold its third annual Community at Bat charity softball game Sunday, September 8, at Memorial Field Park on Bridge Street.
Business Briefs: ‘The Barrington Stage Experience’; cannabis certification; RSYP apprenticeships; Salisbury Bank donates to CDC; Place Corps at Hawthorne Valley
Berkshire Community College is launching a one-year cannabis certificate program designed to provide students with skills and knowledge to work professionally in the areas of cannabis cultivation, processing, preparation, retail and outreach.
Site preparation begins at 100 Bridge St. in advance of CDC housing project construction
Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire executive director Tim Geller said he expects environmental remediation to begin late this month and construction on the apartments to commence in late October.
Town Hall Briefs: Town seeks input on Housatonic School; 100 Bridge Street gets final approvals; troubled Lake Mansfield Road to see a repaving
The Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire can finally proceed with its plan to build an affordable housing complex at 100 Bridge Street after receiving the go-ahead from the selectboard.
Contrary to rumors, sales of Powerhouse Square units proceeding as planned, developer says
Now that the model units are open, Benchmark Development principal Charles said he expects to reconnect with prior contacts and hold regular open houses.
Business Briefs: National Dance Presenters’ Forum; Berkshire Bank donates to CDCSB; Fitch Ratings upgrades Kimball Farms; Berkshire United Way community investments
The Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire has announced that the Berkshire Bank Foundation has made a $10,000 grant to the CDCSB.
Grayhouse is rebuffed, as selectmen ‘reboot’ process of Housatonic School reuse
“I feel like I would like more of guarantee that you can actually move forward with financing it. It doesn’t give me a lot of feeling that this could happen.”
— Great Barrington Selectboard member Leigh Davis
Lenox needs the Sawmill Brook affordable housing project
At the Annual Town Meeting to be held to be held tomorrow, May 2, residents will be asked to vote on whether to donate the Sawmill Brook property to the developer to facilitate needed state and federal aid.
For many Great Barrington voters, a tough decision for selectboard awaits
“I have no idea how this election will turn out. I put signs up this weekend. I asked some people to put up signs and they said no. They liked everybody.”
— Great Barrington Selectboard Chair Steve Bannon
Affordable housing necessary in Lenox
In a letter to the editor, Michael Tuck writes: “The teachers in our schools, our firefighters and EMTs, and the actors and staff at Shakespeare & Company are all committed to the long-term health of this community—they should have the opportunity to live here, too.”
ZBA takes second look at 100 Bridge Street, gives OK to revised proposal
CDC’s latest plan, now accepted, was to remove the toxic soil and pile it up on three separate berms on the property.
ZBA says changes to 100 Bridge Street too great, putting CDC development plan at ‘significant risk’
The language that is always being used is that the CDC is ghettoizing our poor, or low- and moderate-income families … We think that description is absurd, given where the site is … and the fact that … 50 percent of the families in Great Barrington qualify for these units.”
— Tim Geller, executive director of the CDC
Selectmen frustrated by glacial pace of Housatonic School reuse proposal
The plan, the only one the town has so far received after several requests for proposals, calls for an adaptive reuse of the vacant 110-year-old school on Pleasant Street in the center of the village of Housatonic.
Bits & Bytes: Pilobolus at the Mahaiwe; Calvin Alexander Ramsey at Simon’s Rock; ‘One Big Home’ screening; ‘Cupcake Wars’ fundraiser; mentor meet-up
Calvin Alexander Ramsey’s play, and his later children’s story “Ruth and the Green Book,” both draw inspiration from the same story that inspired the Academy Award-nominated film “Green Book.”
Business Briefs: CDCSB grant; participation designation for Berkshire Theatre Group; NPC Berkshires receives grant; grant for Berkshire Workforce Board; BCArc rebrand
Mass Cultural Council’s UP Initiative seeks to break down barriers that prevent civic participation in the cultural sector of Massachusetts.
Business Briefs: Money Matters mentors sought; Brewer joins CDCSB; Local Farmer Awards applications open; Balance Rock moves; BTCF grant deadlines
To be eligible for an award, a farm must have gross sales of $10,000 or above, and be a member of either Berkshire Grown or Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture or located in one the four counties of Western Massachusetts.
Business Briefs: Fairview team recognition; awards for Berkshire Healthcare; Girls Inc. receives grant; BTCF announces grants
Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation’s Community Development Collaborations grantmaking initiative will support projects that promote and strengthen the conditions for economic opportunity, town center development and affordable housing in the foundation’s four-county region.
Business Briefs: Permits for CDCSB; award for CHP; new trustee for Barrington Stage; Rotter joins Goodwill; Person leads executive council
Massachusetts Health Quality Partners conducts the only statewide survey of primary care patient experience in Massachusetts, with feedback from over 65,000 commercially insured patients across the state.
Business Briefs: Allium to close; Grant for CDCSB; new board member for NPC Berkshires; Waiveris joins VIM; O’Donnell to coach at Mass. Conference for Women
The Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire has announced that Salisbury Bank has made it a $5,000 grant, which will support the organization by growing its general fund.
Business Briefs: CDCSB annual meeting; new Austen Riggs CEO; DeVries Fine Art holiday reception; Goewey joins CHP board; ‘We Believe’ at Salisbury Bank
In addition to his long professional career at Austen Riggs, Dr. Eric Plakun is also a leader in organized psychiatry and psychoanalysis, the author of more than 50 publications, a member of several journal editorial boards, and a past member of the Harvard clinical faculty.
On the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, local woman envisions a transitional home for women and children fleeing domestic violence
Statewide there are over 8,900 calls per year on the domestic violence hotline asking for shelter. There are fewer than 26 shelters with just over 400 beds in the entire state of Massachusetts to accommodate these calls.
Bits & Bytes: Community at Bat; Dalton Appalachian Trail Community celebration; Michaelmas festival; courthouse art exhibit; CoA luncheon
Dalton will host a celebration of one year as an Appalachian Trail CommunitySaturday, Sept. 29, with guided hikes and a community gathering at the Kay Wood Shelter just off the trail.