Lauren Molk and John Panzer of Elyse Harney Real Estate offer a spacious three-floor condo near downtown Stockbridge that feels like a free-standing house. The architectural design firm of Clark Green + Bek works with new owners to transform Doctor Sax House from a private home to a stunning boutique hotel. A report on real estate sales in the first quarter of 2025. Plus, recent sales and gardening columns and a home-cooking recipe.
"The work I do provides me with unique insights into how Great Barrington might better leverage state and federal monies, pursue shared services, and develop creative partnerships which would help to strengthen and sustain our community."
-- Great Barrington Selectboard candidate Leigh Davis
The Berkshire Hills school committee is expected to vote Thursday night to approve its own spending proposal of $26.2 million. The vote to approve it is almost a foregone conclusion after last week's quiet and harmonious public hearing.
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.
2018 has provided enough Great Barrington news to keep journalists busy and observers of town politics highly amused, signaling that the community dubbed "best small town in America" by Smithsonian Magazine continues to be a place in transition.
The primary order of business for Conner and Nappo was to get the selectboard to write a letter of endorsement for Grayhouse's application for $75,000 on an emergency basis from the Massachusetts Historical Commission's Preservation Projects Fund.
There was also an agreement that the Ramsdell's resources and services need to be focused, in part so that the Ramsdell is not merely duplicating the services of the Mason, but on a smaller scale.
Despite the schools’ regionalization at the start of the 1967-68 academic year, Monument Mountain Regional High School was not ready to be occupied. As a result, juniors and seniors were assigned to one of the two high schools—Searles in Great Barrington or Williams in Stockbridge—depending on which courses they had signed up for.
Grayhouse principal Bill Nappo and his financial consultant, Gillette Conner, updated the selectboard Monday night on the progress of the project. They said they are working closely with MassDevelopment on securing financing.
"I don't think this is good for Great Barrington. I think we already have conflicts with the other two towns over the school and I don't see this as bringing it together.”
-- Ed Abrahams, commenting on Selectman and School Committee Chair Steve Bannon also becoming Selectboard chairman.
The six candidates for Great Barrington Selectboard range from two men and one woman who have been on the scene for a long time to younger office seekers looking for generational change on the board.
Friday, March 23, is the last day nomination papers can be obtained from the town clerk for candidates who want to be on the ballot for the Tuesday, May 15, nonpartisan municipal elections.
A four-page memorandum outlines a timetable for accomplishing specific goals during a one-year period of due diligence in advance of the redevelopment of the abandoned school in the center of the village of Housatonic.
Selectman Ed Abrahams said he does like the idea of a public-private partnership because, even if it means the town still owns the building, at least the town would retain some control over its future.
Town manager Jennifer Tabakin told the selectboard Monday night she has received a proposal from Grayhouse Partners, a general contractor specializing in renovations, to buy the Housatonic School.
