As part of her annual state-of-the-city address recently, Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer praised the arrival of Wayfair — the fastest-growing e-commerce home-décor company in the world — on a number of levels.

By Andy McKeever
iBerkshires Staff
March 9, 2018

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It was in March 2008 when former Sen. Benjamin Downing and former state Rep. Christopher Speranzo secured $6.5 million to build what was then conceived to be an incubator building at the William Stanley Business Park, spurring the life science economy.

“It is important that Western Massachusetts carve its own niche in the commonwealth’s emerging life science industry,” Downing said at the time.

But now, both Downing and Speranzo are out of office. That 2008 earmark has floated through three different mayoral administrations, two governors, two congressmen, and many city councilors.

But that desire to carve out a niche has not wavered.

On Friday, Gov. Charlie Baker and other state and local officials announced the final piece of funding to make the research and development center a reality and a groundbreaking for the $13.7 million project is expected this fall.

“We have accomplished an amazing collaborative effort with so many people who believe in our city, believe in our region. The William Stanley Business Park is going to change in not only what it looks like but in how it delivers for our advanced manufacturers here in Pittsfield and the Berkshires,” Mayor Linda Tyer said.

The center tackles some of the city’s biggest economic needs. It provides support for small and medium-sized businesses by giving them a facility to use high-tech equipment the company may never be able to purchase on its own. A number of businesses have signed on to become members of the non-profit Berkshire Innovation Center, Inc. and their annual memberships give them access to cutting-edge equipment to test and develop new products.

“The life sciences is a sector, is a culture, throughout the entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is not just in Cambridge and Boston. But there are opportunities for economic development within this high tech cluster throughout the entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” said Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President and CEO Travis McCready.

“If you discover here, you ought to be able to make it here.”

The 20,000 square-foot facility is mostly supported by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. The city contributed $1 million from the General Electric Economic Development Fund and the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority added $300,000. MassDevelopment, another state partner in the project, contributed an additional $400,000. The $13.7 million will cover construction, equipment, and soft costs associated with the organization.

“It is definitely a milestone but it is not the finish line. It is not a victory lap. It is the start of the real work we need to do to build the center and continue with the mission of the Berkshire Innovation Center,” said BIC Chairman Stephen Boyd.

The second piece to the economic puzzle is workforce development. There has been a longstanding gap between the available jobs and the skills the workers in the county possess. The BIC includes a component in which education institutes, from the local high schools to state colleges to RPI, have all added to it. Those will use the center to develop programs that closely match what the employers in the region need.

“This is an incredibly exciting day for the entire Berkshires. This is what we’ve been looking for, to create this shared R+D facility and to provide opportunities for so many people at some many different levels of the workforce to up their game, up their skill level, and to provide those connections to allow our businesses to grow,” Berkshire Community College President Ellen Kennedy said.

“We’re really connected now with so many of the businesses and what their workforce skills needs are. We can develop short-term things, longer-term things, bringing different people to the table.”

Kennedy called Friday’s announcement a “gamechanger” in matching the skills an employer wants with the skills a college graduate has. That is expected to help create a pipeline from high school or college into high paying, skilled jobs.

“The opportunity to leap forward into the next generation of advanced manufacturing and life science, and to be able to build on a history and knowledge base and transform it into the next generation of jobs and products and companies, is a very real and significant one,” Baker said.

In advanced manufacturing, it has been estimated that 100,000 new jobs will be opening in the next decade. The sector has been cited as one of growth for the state of Massachusetts, but not all of the jobs are being filled right now.

“There are 6 million jobs in American every single day the Department of Labor says goes unfilled. In New England, the smallest geographic region in the country, right now 18,000 precision manufacturing jobs go unfilled. Stunning when you look at the reality of what that means,” U.S. Rep. Richard Neal said.

Neal said the BIC project hits a “structural” issue with the economy when it comes to worker participation rate. He said those numbers continue to be low nationwide.

“The best poverty program is still a good job. It is transformative,” Neal said.

Ever since General Electric left the city, many have said that manufacturing left with it. But in 2013, the UMass Donahue Institute published a study, funded by the Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corp, which showed manufacturing remains a strong piece of the local economy.

“Manufacturing remains a critical part of the economy of Berkshire County. Key strengths reside primarily in paper manufacturing, plastics and rubber products, printing, chemicals, minerals, fabricated metal, and machinery,” the Berkshire Advanced Manufacturing Study reads.

“In terms of total wages, manufacturing is the second largest industrial sector in the county. Despite shrinking over time, manufacturing remains a crucial part of the Berkshire County economy and the economic base of the state.”

The study did also cite a struggle to fill those positions, reading “one firm estimated that 40 percent of its staff would need to be replaced due to retirements or age by the year 2020, while another assessed that young workers cannot immediately fill the jobs of the pending retirees because of their largely inadequate training in STEM discipline.”

That report had emphasized the potential impact such a project would have to Tyer and what led her to make closing the funding a gap a priority in her administration.

“What really convinced me was the Berkshire Advanced Manufacturing study, that showed there is a growing and thriving section of advanced manufacturing in the Berkshires. And it was the business leaders who said to me, we need a place where we can have access to cutting-edge equipment for research and development to design and engineer new products,” Tyer said.

“It is a powerful and growing sector of our economy.”

Tyer had taken on the project after being elected and was the third mayor to work on it. At the time she took office, there was an estimated $3 million funding gap. Tyer met with Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Jay Ash multiple times after taking office and her administration looked to heighten the workforce development piece.

“This is an investment in Pittsfield’s future. It is an investment for the next generations of your sons and daughters who will find more opportunity and a reason to stay here,” Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said.

Mayor Linda Tyer picked up where two prior administrations left off on the project and now a groundbreaking is expected this year.
Prior to Tyer taking over the project was former Mayor Daniel Bianchi. Bianchi inherited it from former Mayor James Ruberto. One of the first tasks Bianchi did when getting the earmark of $6.5 million was to hire Rod Jané, of the firm New England Expansion Strategies, head the project. Jane reviewed all of the literature and studies and ultimately determined that an “incubator” wouldn’t necessarily the best for the Berkshires.

Jané then led the development of the Innovation Center concept, one that focused on the small and medium businesses and education. He saw helping the existing businesses as a better way to build that economic cluster.

“We are a long way from the finish line on this but this is going to access tremendous opportunities for the youngsters of Berkshire County, to really give them exposure to cutting edge technology and innovation. But it is also going to provide a lot of the businesses here in Berkshire County with access to technology that comes from places like RPI, the nanotechnology center, UMass Lowell, UMass Amherst and their expertise with polymer sciences. And it is going to be all under one roof,” Bianchi said on Friday.

The Massachusetts Life Science Center supported the new plan and upped its commitment to $9.7 million. The Berkshire Innovation Center was formed and a groundbreaking was set. The membership included the likes of Apex Resource Technologies, Synoco Plastics, Cavallero Plastics, Boyd Technologies, Intertech, Onyx Specialty Papers, and Berkshire Steel & Manufacturing, as well as many regional educational institutions such as State University of New York’s College of Nanoscience, Albany (N.Y.) Medical College, MassMEDIC, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Lowell, Berkshire Community College, McCann Technical School, Berkshire Community College, and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

New equipment was ordered and stored at Taconic High School. The BIC started running training programs and workshops. And then in 2015, the bids for the project came in too high. The BIC cut the project down but still couldn’t make the numbers work.

“Every one of the members signed up with the project that would have already been up and running at this point. We originally thought about a 2017 ribbon cutting,” Boyd said.

Bianchi said, “it was very concerning that the funding wasn’t what it should have been. So it is great to get that funding together now so this project can actually happen. It appears to be adequate amounts of capital support to make it a reality and to bring the technology that is required.”

But most of the members stuck with the project. Boyd and BIC staff repeatedly made trips to Boston, asking Ash and others to invest more into the project. He recalled meeting with Baker and Polito two years ago to talk about the project. Tyer repeatedly pitched they project to state officials. State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier and state Sen. Adam Hinds made phones and met with officials.

And that continual push worked. More than a year after the gap was identified, the state is now again upping its commitment to make the center a reality.

“I think it speaks to the commitment of the region, to collaboration, to innovation, and the value of the equipment it has – the economy of scale it provides to the local manufacturers,” Boyd said.

With Friday’s announcement, Boyd said the project is expected to break ground this fall and open a year later. He hopes that now the funding is all in place, even more, companies and educational institutions will be joining.

“The Berkshire Innovation Center is real. It is here to stay and we want to bring more members into the fold,” Boyd said.

City Councilor Melissa Mazzeo has been a long time supporter of the project. She has stood firm on the position that the new comprehensive high school in Taconic and the Berkshire Innovation Center will be key turning points for the city of Pittsfield.

“I’m absolutely thrilled. I’m thrilled for Berkshire County in general. I’ve been telling people when things don’t look like they are going well for Pittsfield to hang tight, that Taconic and the Berkshire Innovation Center is going to be our turnaround,” Mazzeo said. “We might have to wait a few years to get this up and running but we are going to see this come back for our future generations. Pittsfield is going to be on the map.”

Mazzeo credited the Tyer administration for seeing the value in the project and pushing for it.

The 20,000 square-foot building will be at the William Stanley Business Park, near East Street.

Farley-Bouvier said few of the officials at the Fridays announcement were there when the entire project started. But, that is what she means when she says “team Pittsfield.” It isn’t just who is there now working on the project, but who is going to continue to push for the city in the future, she said.

“Team Pittsfield doesn’t end today. This isn’t the end of this story and certainly not at the end of this project. Team Pittsfield is the people who come afterward,” Farley-Bouvier said.

That’s the kind of long-term vision she sees with the BIC. She said in all of the discussions about it, there was always an eye to make sure the project was done right for years to come.

“What we really care about is our grandchildren. And that is what this project is. It is going to be good for them,” Farley-Bouvier said. “We want to be able to have a strong economy for our grandchildren.”

That strong economy is also what officials hope for the future of the William Stanley Business Park. The BIC is eyed to help attract new companies to develop the industrial land formerly owned by General Electric.

“The succession of that property has a rich history. And Pittsfield has a rich history of not only innovation, and our future is certainly bright there, but also in our workforce,” PEDA Chairman Mick Callahan said.

The business park has been overseen by PEDA and efforts have been ongoing for years to redevelop it. Only a few parcels have been developed so far and there is plenty of acreage left.

“It will be stunning both outside and inside and will certainly be a catalyst for change for the park and attract more employers to be there,” Polito said.

The park is what is left of a massive piece of the city’s history, from the day William Stanley moved here to start Stanley Electric, which later became GE and employed thousands. But the company left and left a void in the center of the city.

“I love the fact that it is blossoming on the soil of the GE site because absent that next GE we know, the studies show, that it is the investments in those small and middle-sized companies, making sure they have everything they need in technology and training, it is the right strategy. It is the right industry and it is the right location,” Hinds said.

Baker said, “the part I find particularly poignant about this is that Berkshire County has a long and cherished and significant history in manufacturing.”

All involved know the work is far from over. But, Friday’s announcement caused quite a lot of excitement among city, county, state, education, and federal officials who have eyed this coming to fruition for years.

“We are extremely excited about the possibilities with this,” Baker said, but, “for me, the real exciting day is going to be the day when this starts translating to real jobs, real opportunities, real new businesses.”

Among the numerous elected officials, school personnel, and business leaders present were North Adams Mayor Thomas Bernard, former North Adams Mayor Richard Alcombright, McCann Tech Superintendent James Brosnan, MCLA President James Birge, Pittsfield Schools Superintendent Jason McCandless, Sheriff Thomas Bowler, and City Councilors Peter White, Christopher Connell, Anthony Simonelli, Melissa Mazzeo, Kevin Morandi, Earl Persip, Donna Todd Rivers, Helen Moon, and John Krol.

September 27, 2017
By Andy McKeever
iBerkshires staff

PITTSFIELD, MA — The city is putting forth $1 million from the GE Economic Development Fund to jump start the stalled construction of the Berkshire Innovation Center.

The City Council unanimously approved using the money to help cover a $3 million funding gap for a 20,000 square-foot facility at the William Stanley Business Park. The remaining $2 million is expected to come from the state.

The Massachusetts Life Science Center had already committed $9.7 million, and an additional $2 million will bring the total state support for the research and development operation to $11.7 million.

“We know that advanced manufacturing is a key sector for growth opportunities in Pittsfield and the region,” Mayor Linda Tyer said in advocating for getting the project off the ground.

The project dates back to 2008 when the first $6.5 million was earmarked for the city to build a life science incubator at the park in a bond bill put forth by former Gov. Deval Patrick.

In 2013, the city launched a study to make that incubator happen. The Pittsfield Economic Development Authority hired Rod Jané to plan out the center at the park.

What Jané found was that an incubator in the traditional sense didn’t seem to fit the area, which lacked many opportunities for new startup companies. Under former Mayor Daniel Bianchi, the city re-envisioned the use of the earmark to instead focus on the small to mid-sized advanced manufacturing businesses that are already here. The new concept of a research and development center came to the forefront.

In 2014, the Massachusetts Life Science Center allocated another $3 million or so to bring the total earmark up to $9.7 million. The Berkshire Innovation Center was born and Jané and others began to create the new institution. The Berkshire Innovation Center model is subscription based in that companies pay dues to use the state-of-the-art equipment being made available. Dozens of companies and educational institutes have signed on to become members and use it for research and development.

The BIC became a non-profit in 2015 and had some 20 letters of intent from companies wanting to use the facility and equipment. Through another grant with Berkshire Community College, $1 million worth of equipment was purchased. PEDA and the City Council each approved a quarter of a million dollars to help the newly organized non-profit off the ground. The groundbreaking was all but set.

And then the bids came in too high.

The organization and the city scaled back the design but couldn’t make the numbers work. The 20,000 square-foot building that was set to break ground that October now remains an empty site with a “coming soon” sign starting to fade.

The BIC identified a $3 million funding gap between what it wanted to build and what it had.

At the same time, Bianchi was ousted from office and there were changes in state administration. Jané told the City Council on Tuesday that much of the time since has been catching those new officials up to date, teaching them about the project, and then looking for a funding source.

“We’ve been considerably engaged working with the city and the state to obtain those funds,” Jané said.

Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Jay Ash was the key partner for both Bianchi and Tyer. Tyer had pitched the project to Ash during a tour of the city but the secretary told her to look at current buildings that could be retrofitted instead.

Tyer and BIC officials looked at the now vacant SABIC facility on Plastics Avenue and another space downtown, to see if either of those were more economical. They weren’t, according to Tyer.

“New construction at the William Stanley Business Park is the right strategy,” she said.

The idea cycled back to the former General Electric land on East Street. PEDA, which manages that land, has been involved with the project since day one and had believed that that’s where it should be located anyway.

“It belongs as an innovation center people can point to and can see and come to and not hidden away in some old building that requires retrofitting,” Executive Director Corydon Thurston said.

But the financial picture hadn’t changed. The BIC was still $3 million short of building what it envisioned and has depleted the $700,000 — $250,000 from PEDA, $250,000 from the city and $200,000 from memberships — in startup operational costs.

The membership hasn’t changed either. There are still 20 letters of intent signed from companies and 10 had actually signed on — eight of them paying into the center alongside some larger donations. None of those companies have walked away from the project.

“All 10 of those members are still members. We literally had a two and a half year delay from when the doors were supposed to open and they will if this funding is approved,” Jané said.

The BIC continues to operate even without a home. It used its equipment to launch certification training programs, seminars, and allowed companies access to the equipment. The workforce training component had actually grown to become a larger focus of the organization.

There are numerous educational facilities on board with the project and with the state’s urging, a deeper level of commitment to providing those opportunities was incorporated into the plan — tackling an issue many companies face in the inability to find employees with the skills needed in their fields.

“We have an obligation to try to find ways to train the workforce for the jobs that are available,” Tyer said.

That took all of that work back to the state and Tyer says state officials have all but promised $2 million if the city would put in $1 million to cover the gap.

“The city’s expected to almost immediately trigger a $2 million investment from the commonwealth,” Director of Community Development Deanna Ruffer said.

On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously decided to pull that $1 million from the GE fund — a pool of money given to the city years ago as part of the settlement when General Electric left.

That brings the state’s investment — as long as it actually does provide that $2 million that is expected on Oct. 10 — to $11.7 million.

Thurston said he is excited with the next steps. He’s been hoping for a groundbreaking for years and trying to get the park developed.

“We cannot, as a community, let an $11 million gift — it was $9.7 before now it looks like it is up — we’ve got $11 million plus gratis on the line here,” Thurston said. “We’ve got to do something with that money and we will.”

PEDA Chairman Mick Callahan said development at the park will help spur other investments and that was the idea behind the incubator to begin with.

“We’ve always been confident that any development brings new opportunities. In this case, the synergy of the BIC operation gives us the opportunities to advance some of those other parcels, specifically on the same quadrant,” Callahan said.

From the city’s perspective, it will address both the workforce development piece but also help local companies expand. Those involved often aren’t able to purchase machines that can be used to develop and take to market new products.

“The most important job of our time is to ensure our very own successful, locally grown, and often unrecognized businesses continue to thrive,” Tyer said.

Jane said construction will take about 18 months.

But, alas, the work isn’t done yet. Despite closing the $3 million funding gap, Jane says the BIC still needs to figure out how to cover what is expected to be increased construction costs because of the delay to the tune of about $900,000 and replenish the organization’s operating funds. Only then will it be able to start the construction process.

“It has been two years so the capital construction costs don’t stand still,” Jané said.

Jané said the organization is cutting half of its budget for equipment — from $2 million to $1 million — to address the rising construction cost. He said the organization has prioritized the more important pieces for opening day and will seek to buy, or find grants, the others later.

A change to the agreement between the city, PEDA, and the BIC will help sidestep public procurement process that Jane hopes will help lower construction costs. The previous agreement was that the city would build the center for the BIC to use. PEDA owns the land and had signed a lease with the city for the land.

Now, the city is terminating its agreements with PEDA and the BIC will now sign new leases and take responsibility for constructing and owning the building. The earmark from the state will also switch over to the BIC.

“It can be more nimble and more flexible,” Ruffer told the council of the decision to switch agreements.

From PEDA’s perspective, the structure seems to just make more sense.

“We’re very happy with the structure based on the tweaking that went on to improve the whole thing. I think we have a solid agreement that was put in place by a lot of good people and the PEDA board has supported the BIC front the start,” Callahan said.

The unanswered question remains about operating costs. Jane said once all the construction funds are secured, the organization will be in a better position to attract new companies. And there are still 10 letters of intent still out there. Thurston echoed those sentiments saying once it is “real” the operational concerns will evaporate with the newer interest.

The city, however, doesn’t want to see its money be spent like that. The agreement for the $1 million specifies that it should be used for construction and only if construction moves forward in a timely fashion will the money be dispersed.

“We will see that it is moving forward before our funds are expended,” Ruffer said.

Jané said once that operational problem is solved, he gives it 18 months before a ribbon cutting.