Here’s the Link to Zoom recording of the Ribbon Apartments Cutting Ceremony
Passcode: nrfp@pf5
Bentley Apartments is a low-moderate income housing complex in the heart of downtown Great Barrington, MA. It consists of 45 apartments in two buildings. All of the apartments have rents that are affordable to households earning less than 60% AMI. 3. The 45 apartments include 12 one-bedroom units, 22 two-bedroom units, and 11 three bedroom units and a community room. The CDCSB owns the remaining remediated parcels including a 2-acre public park it is developing on the banks of the Housatonic River, and the 2.2 acre site at the north end preparing for development.
Photo Left to Right:
Matt Emprimo, Berkshire Bank First Vice President and Commercial Team Leader; Jim Harwood, CDCSB Board President; Richard Stanley, CDCSB Vice President; Allison Marchese, CDCSB Executive Director; Elton Ogden, Berkshire Housing Development Corporation former President and CEO; Eileen Peltier, Berkshire Housing Development Corporation President and CEO; Ed Abrahams, Town of Great Barrington Selectboard; Robin Helfand, CDCSB Board of Directors, Emmalyn Gaertner, CDCSB Manager of Operations and Finance; Mark Pruhenski, Town of Great Barrington Town Manager; Smitty Pignatelli, Massachusetts State Representative; Craig Okerstrom-Lang, CDCSB Board of Directors.
Photo Left to Right:
Mark Pruhenski, Town of Great Barrington Town Manager; Ed Abrahams, Town of Great Barrington Selectboard; Allison Marchese, CDCSB Executive Director; Jim Harwood, CDCSB Board President; Smitty Pignatelli, Massachusetts State Representative; Elton Ogden, Berkshire Housing Development Corporation President and CEO
PRESS RELEASE
(Link to Press Release)
May 10, 2021 — Great Barrington, Ma. — The Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire (CDCSB) with project partners Berkshire Housing Development Corporation (BHDC) will host a virtual ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, at 2:00 pm, for invited guests on Zoom to celebrate the opening of Bentley Apartments, Great Barrington, MA. Invited guests include donors, funders, town and State officials, construction and community partners and those whose ongoing support have made this project possible.
“We are celebrating the renewal and redevelopment of the abandoned property in the center of Great Barrington, and the completion of Bentley Apartments 45 new affordable rental units,” said CDCSB Executive Director, Allison Marchese. “This is an opportunity to acknowledge the success of the CDCSB board and thank our co-sponsors Berkshire Housing Development Corporation, as well as the state-wide team who helped create these much needed affordable, safe, and healthy homes.”
Bentley Apartments Affordable Housing complex would not have been possible without the help and support of Massachusetts Governor Charles Baker, Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy and Undersecretary Jennifer Maddox. The CDCSB also extends a special thank you to Kate Racer of the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.
Thanks also go out to Bentley Apartments project funders: Department of Housing and Economic Development, Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), MassHousing Affordable Housing Trust, Redstone Equity Partners, Dorfman Capital, Berkshire Bank, TD Bank, and The Town of Great Barrington Community Preservation Act Funds.
Bentley Apartments would not have been possible without the support for the site remediation process. Funders of that work include: MASS DEP, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, EPA Assessment and Clean up Grants, HUD, Berkshires Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund, Mass Development, LISC, Mass Clean Energy.
Other acknowledgements are extended to: MBL Housing and Development, Ransom Consulting Engineers and Scientists, Lazan Glover and Puciloski LLP, Dietz & Co. Architects, Foresight Land Services, Inc., Sage Engineering, D.R. Billings, Saloomey Construction, Nolan, Sheehan, Patton Attorney’s, Emily Stockman and the CDCSB Board of Directors.
The May 11th Virtual Ribbon Cutting ceremony speakers include: James Harwood,
CDCSB Board President, Elton Ogden, former CEO/President of Berkshire Housing Development Corporation, Matt Gibney, Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, Roger Herzog, Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) Executive Director, Lionel Romain CEDAC Director of Housing for Central and Western Massachusetts, Lori Gazzillo Kiely, Berkshire Bank Regional President, State Representative Smitty Pignatelli, Chris Rembold Town of Great Barrington Assistant Town Manager and Director of Planning and Community Development, Lynn Shields, Manager, Affordable Housing Trust, and CDCSB Executive Director, Allison Marchese as moderator.
Bentley Apartments complex includes 12 one-bedroom apartments, 22 two-bedroom apartments, and 11 three-bedroom units. Five units are reserved for formerly homeless people with additional units for developmentally impaired individuals. Bentley Apartments features green building techniques with a near net-zero energy efficiency. Each unit has indoor/outdoor spaces which include balconies or ground level patio terraces and feature East Mountain or River views.
Click Here for a virtual tour to the Bentley Apartments
“Being able to provide affordable housing and economic opportunity in the Berkshires is key to our mission,” said CDCSB Board President, Jim Harwood. “Local businesses could see an uptick in revenue from the increase in people living closer to the town center and they may find a larger pool of potential employees who can walk to work.”
The Bentley Apartments is part of the 100 Bridge Street redevelopment project. All of the apartments have rents that are affordable to households earning less than 60% AMI. The site has met all of the stringent regulations for brownfield clean up set forth by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, as well as meeting all of the requirements of its 40B comprehensive permit as set forth by the Town of Great Barrington.
The redevelopment project has generated over 100 area construction jobs and offers families high quality affordable rental units. Each of the CDCSB’s projects increases the Town of Great Barrington’s tax revenues while reducing the towns’ and region’s carbon footprint. The CDCSB owns the remaining parcels including a 2-acre public park it is developing on the banks of the Housatonic River, and the 2.2 acre site at the north end preparing for development.
The CDCSB’s ongoing activities also include the development of recently funded Windrush Commons at 910 South Main Street in Great Barrington where 49 new affordable apartments will become available for rent in early 2023. BHDC is completing construction of 41 new affordable rental apartments in Williamstown. Both of these projects were made possible by DHCD funding.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the opening of Bentley Apartments on May 11th “Marchese said, “And soon we’ll be groundbreaking at Windrush Commons. The need for affordable homes is ever present. Our work never stops.”
For more information about the CDCSB or to make a contribution, please visit www.cdcsb.org.
