Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
In order to fill what local officials and investors describe as a missing link in North Adams’ cultural attractions, a group of investors is working with the city to transform an aging state park into a public market that would include 18 residential units for artisans.
The city sought proposals this past fall for the redevelopment of Western Gateway State Park, which has been in a state of decline, according to Mayor Richard Alcombright. He said that by transforming the downtown park into a public market, the city will be free of the cost of the park’s maintenance and, more importantly, will gain an important cultural asset.
Construction is expected to begin in the second half of this calendar year, Alcombright said.
A report issued in January by the nonprofit Partnership for North Adams cites the artisans’ market as the key element in physically linking the city’s most important cultural institutions. Plans include connecting the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art to downtown via a footbridge and park; new signage to help visitors find their way around; and the consolidation of the city’s history museum and train museum.
In 2012, the city obtained an $880,000 MassWorks infrastructure grant related to Western Gateway State Park. The city has been working with Greylock Market LLC. Greylock principal Blair Benjamin said the firm is a “social impact” investor that is willing to settle for a lower rate of return than would a typical investment firm.
Benjamin, a former real estate and community development director for MassMOCA, said that the existing buildings at Western Gateway State Park are in need of significant renovation.
“Given the rents we can expect to receive in North Adams, this project is simply not viable with only conventional funding,” Benjamin wrote in an emailed response to questions. “Securing adequate gap financing [from the Department of Housing and Community Development] will likely be the biggest challenge and greatest risk to the successful completion of the project.”