PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Some city councilors are happy to support a longtime city construction company's expansion. It will take a majority of the council support the tax exemption plan.

On Monday, the Finance subcommittee voted in favor of a 10-year tax increment financing agreement for Unistress Corp.'s $4 million expansion at 550 Cheshire Road, which is expected to create 50 new jobs. 

"This is the perfect opportunity. When we give out TIFs or we give out GE economic funds, people talk about helping local business. This is a great local business that hires a lot of people, that pays good salaries so I'm 100 percent for this. This is an easy slam dunk for me," Councilor at Large Earl Persip III said.

"I don't know anybody who's against this. The only time I hear people are against it is they don't understand the TIF program and how it actually works."

Last month, the council acted as a decades-defunct financing authority to OK MassDevelopment assistance for the company. Approval from the Pittsfield Industrial Development Financing Authority, formed in the 1970s, is needed to move the process forward yet that body is far in the past.

At the time, Mayor Peter Marchetti reported that he would return with another proposal to help the company.

"Petricca doesn't have to put an expansion into Pittsfield just like years ago, Interprint did not have to put an expansion in Pittsfield. They could have chosen to move to Georgia, which was on the table for them and an opportunity," he said.

"So anytime the city can come to the table and assist a local business, especially to grow and expand, we should be there with whatever tools in our toolbox that we have."

With a TIE, Unistress would pay about $653,000 in property taxes over the next decade, starting at 100 percent forgiveness in the first year (about $24,000) and ending at 10 percent forgiveness (about $2,750) in 2035.

The company has projected a $4,150,750 capital investment expansion that includes soft costs, construction, utility and infrastructure improvements, and the purchase of two large overhead crane systems. The property's base value in fiscal year 2025 is $1,294,700, and the completed market value is $1,920,100. The $625,400 increment will see 10 percent less forgiveness each year.

"The base value of the property remains the same. The increment is the new value that would be as a result of these increment improvements and additions, and that's phased in over time," Director of Community Development Justine Dodds explained.

"So the operator continues to pay exactly the same taxes that they currently pay if they were not to do this project."

She pointed out that the jobs will have an average base salary of around $50,000 per year before overtime or shift differential work.  New employees will also be eligible for union positions after three months.

"We hope to break ground on construction this spring and have it complete by the fall," Perri Petricca, CEO of Unistress Corporation & Petricca Industries, said.

"There will be some people that will come on to help complete the build-out but I would say we will start hiring before year-end, and probably most of the jobs will be on board by spring of next year."

Ward 7 Councilor Rhonda Serre said 50 new jobs in manufacturing is significant and "I can't speak for my colleagues but I would gratefully support and I'm very proud the city was able to put this project together."

Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren said the company has been in the ward for longer than he has.

"The fact that this will be a major investment, both physically, it'll impact on the tax rolls and it'll impact on job opportunities for the city of Pittsfield," he said. "Honestly, it's a win, win, win, win."

President Peter White pointed out that "it's really allowing a business to invest the money upfront and then we get to see it incrementally come in over the next 10 years while adding 50 new jobs."

Marchetti found it important to share that since 2015, there have only been two decertified TIFs in the city.

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