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The Greylock Glen Outdoor Center opened on Oct. 11. The net-zero facility sits at the foot of Mount Greylock, the Commonwealth’s highest peak, and represents the first major step in developing the glen for outdoor recreation. (Photo courtesy Tricia McCormick)
On Oct. 11, the town of Adams opened the Greylock Glen Outdoor Center, a net-zero visitor center near the foot of the Commonwealth’s highest mountain.
The Outdoor Center represents the culmination of years of development attempts dating back to the 1950s. Numerous private developments failed before the state took control of the land and ultimately leased it to the town in 2006. Adams developed a vision for the property that was realized with the opening of the Outdoor Center.
“It’s an unconventional task that the town of Adams was willing to undertake because it needed to,” said Adams Town Administrator Jay Green. “The municipality needed to be the one to execute this project.”
The net-zero structure has exhibits about the building and area, meeting and conference rooms, restrooms for visitors, a cafe, and classrooms for future education programs to be led by Mass Audubon. Trails lead from the center into the Glen and Mount Greylock State Reservation.
The Greylock Glen website has a page dedicated to the various components of the Outdoor Center design. The building is heated by air-source pumps and is constructed to conserve as much of that heat as possible, while water-saving bathroom systems reduce impacts on water resources.
Greylock Glen consists of more than 1,000 acres of land. The master plan aims to develop less than 50 of those acres, leaving the remainder as conservation land. The town has already developed and built a trail system on the property, with plans to add a campground, lodge and conference center, and performing arts amphitheater on the site.
Green said the work to develop Greylock Glen had been ongoing since the town signed the lease for the property. He credited former Adams Community Development Director Donna Cesan as a project driver.
“She was able to get people on board and bring them in,” Green said. “Donna worked hard to get their buy-in.”
Adams Select Board Vice-Chair Christine Hoyt said the Select Board’s role has been “to have a public process and keep the public informed about this public building that we have and the private partnerships that will be realized through our tenant agreements.”
Town Meeting was an instrument for building consensus and community input, and the town held workshops and discussions as well.
“The vision came from residents of Adams,” Hoyt said.
Green and Hoyt expressed gratitude for state and federal partnerships that shaped the project, which won state and federal funding that covered a substantial portion of development costs. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated investments in outdoor recreation were a critical factor, Green said.
Adams hired retired Pittsfield Police Chief Michael Wynn to serve as executive director of Greylock Glen. The Outdoor Center functions as a town department, with Wynn reporting to the town administrator. The town funds operating and personnel costs, but income generated from facility rentals will go to a revolving fund for the building.
Wynn said the community has been “overwhelmed” by the center.
“There has been gratitude and appreciation for the quality of the building,” he said, “as well as a sense of disbelief from older residents who didn’t think they’d really see anything built on the parcel.”
Hoyt said she spoke with a local couple at the opening who were overcome with emotion.
The future lodge, conference center and amphitheater will be private developments with lease agreements. The next step of the project is the campground, with the 25-year lease calling for $74,000 per year paid to the town, up to 7% of gross profits, and real estate and property taxes.