Housing

Berkshire Housing Development Corporation (BHDC) was established in 1971 as a non-profit organization by a group of community and business leaders to address the shortage of affordable housing in Berkshire County. The founders, including the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, believed that an adequate supply of housing for all income groups was essential for the economic well being of the County and that a private but public?oriented organization could help by utilizing available government housing programs. During the last 30 years, Berkshire Housing has developed more than 750 new housing units and rehabilitated an additional 1100 housing units in Berkshire County.

Over the years, Berkshire Housing's original mission has expanded to meet new needs. Its original focus was improving affordable housing opportunities for low and moderate-income people. It now also serves as a consultant to small towns to secure funding and carry out a wide variety of community and economic development projects including the construction of new senior centers, installation of new sewer systems, streets, sidewalks and handicapped accessibility improvements. It operates a rental assistance program for 600 low-income families and provides case management to help participants become self-sufficient. Its subsidiary management company, Berkshire Housing Services, Inc., a for-profit entity, is the largest property management company in western Massachusetts. It manages 26 housing complexes, condominium developments and commercial properties throughout the Berkshires, a portfolio valued at more than $75 million.

In 1997, Berkshire Housing was hired to develop a revitalization strategy and coordinate revitalization efforts for downtown Pittsfield, MA. It worked with business and community leaders and developed a plan that focused on increasing the amount of first class office space, expanding the presence of arts and entertainment downtown and increasing the number of retail and restaurant establishments. The plan has been very successful and downtown is now in the midst of resurgence. More than $28 million of projects have been completed in the past two years and an additional $45 million of projects are in the planning stages.

For more information, contact Peter J. Lafayette, President of Berkshire Housing Development Corporation and Berkshire Housing Services, Inc., at (413) 499-1630 or via email: plaf@berkshirehousing.com.

Berkshire Regional Planning Committee

UTILITIES

Electric
Western Mass. Electric Co. (WMECo) 800-286-2000
Massachusetts Electric Company 800-465-1212


Natural Gas
The Berkshire Gas Company 800-292-5012


Telephone
Verizon
Residential 800-870-9999
Commercial 800-941-9900
Richmond NetWorx 413-447-8053
Richmond Telephone Company
(Services to Town of Richmond only) 413-698-2255

EDUCATION

Public Schools - Berkshire County - 58 schools
Adams-Cheshire Regional 413-743-2939
Berkshire Hills Regional 413-298-3711
Central Berkshire Regional 413-684-0320
Lanesboro Public Schools 413-442-2229
Lee Public Schools 413-243-0276
Lenox Public Schools 413-637-5550
Mount Greylock Regional 413-458-9582
North Adams Public Schools 413-662-3225
Northern Berkshire Vocational School 413-663-5383
Pittsfield Public Schools 413-499-9512
Southern Berkshire Regional 413-229-8778


Private/Parochial - Berkshire County - 15 schools
Post Secondary - Berkshire Region - 18 schools
Berkshire Community College, Pittsfield 413-499-4660
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
North Adams 413-662-5000
Simon's Rock College of Bard
Great Barrington 413-528-7312
Williams College, Williamstown 413-597-3131


Additional Colleges and Universities are located within a one hour drive from the City of Pittsfield, such as SUNY Albany (State University of New York), RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), and the Five-College Consortium which features cross registration of Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mt. Holyoke College, Smith College, and UMass, Amherst.

POPULATION (Census 2000)

Berkshire County 134,953
Pittsfield 45,793
North Adams 14,681
Great Barrington 7,527

COST OF LIVING

Average price of homes sold 1/01/00 - 12/31/00
Berkshire County $164,907
Pittsfield $123,850
North Adams $81,226
Great Barrington $224,839
Median Household Income:
Berkshire County $37,284

TAXES

State Sales Tax (Excludes Food and Clothing) 5%
State Income Tax (Earned Income) 5.95%
Median Tax Rate (Berkshire County)
Residential 12.85%
Commercial 12.85%
Average Single Family Tax Bill
Berkshire County $1,665.00
North Adams $930.00
Pittsfield $1,780.00
North Adams Real Estate Tax 2001 (Per $1,000 - Assessed Value)
Residential 13.99
Commercial/Industrial 28.12
Pittsfield Real Estate Tax 2001 (Per $1,000 - Assessed Value)
Residential 18.80
Commercial/Industrial 25.93