The Community Preservation Committee is recommending at least 50 percent funding for affordable housing project requests, including $175,000 for Allegrone Construction's North Street renovation.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A few projects are not getting funded by the Community Preservation Committee because of a tight budget.

The projects not making the cut were in the historic preservation and open space and recreation categories and though they were seen as interesting and valuable projects, the urgency was not prevalent enough for this cycle.

"It's a tough year," Chair Danielle Steinmann said.

The panel made its recommendations on Monday after several meetings of presentations from applications. They will advance to the City Council for final approval.  

Two cemetery projects were scored low by the committee and not funded: A $9,500 request from the city for fencing at the West Part Cemetery as outlined in a preservation plan created in 2021 and a $39,500 request from the St. Joseph Cemetery Commission for tombstone restorations.

"I feel personally that they could be pushed back a year," Elizabeth Herland said. "And I think they're both good projects but they don't have the urgency."

It was also decided that George B. Crane Memorial Center's $73,465 application for the creation of a recreational space would not be funded. Herland said the main reason she scored the project low was because it didn't appear to benefit the larger community as much as other projects do.

There was conversation about not funding The Christian Center's $34,100 request for heating system repairs but the committee ended up voting to give it $21,341 when monies were left over.

The total funding request was more than $1.6 million for FY24 and with a budget of $808,547, only about half could be funded. The panel allocated all of the available monies, breaking down into $107,206 for open space and recreation, $276,341 for historic preservation, and $425,000 for community housing.

A minimum of 10 percent, or about $80,800 must be spent per category.

Three applications were fully funded: A $20,000 request from the city for a conservation restriction on the recently purchased Saw Mill property, a $50,000 request from First Church of Christ for a boiler replacement, and a $30,000 request from the Berkshire Historical Society for a sewer connection project at Arrowhead.

"This one probably has the greatest reach of any project in terms of numbers of people," Herland said about the Arrowhead project.

"Not necessarily in terms of impact on those people but in terms of the numbers of people and in terms of bringing money to Pittsfield so it hits a lot of different criteria and they always provide matching for their projects. They've never asked us for full funding, I don't think, for any project, which I respect."

The rest of the applications were partially funded, with large asks coming from the community housing category.  

All of which were granted half of the originally requested amount: $75,000 for the city's Affordable Housing Trust, $175,000 for Allegrone Construction Co.'s rehabilitation of two North Street properties, and $175,000 for the Westside Legends for a first-time homebuyers mortgage program.

"In my own mind when I was looking at this, I had thought maybe it would feel right to perhaps give each project a very similar amount because they are all contributing value to housing, which is such a core community need in very different ways," Alexandra Tasak Groff said.

And I think that most of us feel that in some way."

Allegrone has planned an $18 million overhaul of the historic Wright Building and the Jim's House of Shoes property. It will combine the two buildings into one development, retaining the commercial storefronts on North Street and providing 35 new rental units, 28 of which will be market-rate units and seven of which will be affordable.

The project is in two phases: the first includes 21 residential units and four storefronts and the second includes 14 residential units and two storefronts. A four-story addition is proposed to allow for more residential units than what would fit in just the existing Wright Building. Twenty percent of the units will be restricted to affordable limits at the 80 percent area median income level.

The former shoe store site will be partly demolished, as the bones of the structure are sound.

Part of the project funding includes historic tax credits from the state, of which more than $1.5 million have been allocated to date. Another $3.6 million has been requested from the Housing Development Incentive Program.

The funding gap is currently about $970,000.

The company is also seeking a 10-year tax increment exemption from the city that would freeze the current property values and base value, and phases in the increased property taxes that result from the upgrades, beginning at 100 percent forgiveness in the first year and decreasing by 10 percent each subsequent year over the term.

It is a requirement to receive state tax credits through the HDIP.

The largest CPA ask was allocated partial funding: The Berkshire Dream Center's $390,000 request for its bell tower restoration. The committee decided to fund the project with $175,000, recognizing the importance of preserving the historic feature.

Other projects were also partially funded: $55,000 of the Gladys Allen Brigham Center's $75,000 request for accessibility extensions to its Eureka! trail, $7,881 of Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and the Pittsfield Housing Authority's $13,318 request for outdoor benches and increased accessibility at the Dower Square Apartments, and $24,325 of the city's $29,480 request for improvements at Marchisio Park.

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