Former GE Site Garners Over $6M for RedevelopmentBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:17AM / Friday, January 20, 2023 | |
 The Pittsfield Economic Development Authority has more than half the funding it needs to redevelop the 16-acre Site 9 in the William Stanley Business Park. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The William Stanley Business Park is closer to fulfilling the $10 million needed to redevelop its biggest parcel, Site 9.
"It took a while to get up to $10.8 million but I think we are very close," Business Development Manager Michael Coakley told the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority on Thursday.
"We have currently solidified $6.3 million."
This includes $3 million from the MassWorks infrastructure program, $880,000 in Site Readiness Program funding from the state's Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, $264,000 from the state Brownfields Program and, most recently, a $500,000 earmark from a state economic development bill that was passed in November.
The 16-acre parcel previously housed a General Electric factory and is the largest and most prominent section of the business park. Mayor Linda Tyer has said it resembles the "surface of the moon" because of deterioration over the past 20 years.
During the meeting, PEDA authorized using the balance of its GE landscaping fund — about $1.3 million — for the landscaping portion of the redevelopment plan and expending $400,000 from its foundation fund for the site.
This leaves a balance of about $4.5 million in grants.
As a part of the recent economic development bill, the Berkshire Innovation Center located within the business park received $150,000 for the Tech Impact Collaborative's digital economy initiatives.
Coakley pointed out that Site 9 is the largest project within the business park and it took a lot of work to get the funding, though the efforts are not over.
He reported that a warehouse/distribution firm has been asking for several documents on the large site.
The company could bring 100 jobs to the area and is looking for possibly a 70,000-square-foot building.
It was said a commitment to the parcel could be helpful to move along with its redevelopment.
Coakley has been in contact with a possible tenant for Site 5 for a couple of years. The company is looking into the feasibility of building a 30,000-square-foot building with another 20,000 square feet on another level to lease.
A pre-fab building components manager based out of Europe, an industrial digital manufacturer, energy storage companies, and a production company have also shown interest in the park.
"There’s a number of kind of irons in the fire," Coakley said. "Some are hotter than others."
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