Editorial: No retail in Pittsfield industrial park

The $30 million Waterstone Retail Commercial Development proposed for a section of the William Stanley Business Park by a Needham developer is not the answer for an industrial setting.

General Electric has given Pittsfield $10 million to develop an industrial base plus its GE campus.

At best, it would be better for Pittsfield, the mayor’s office and the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority (PEDA) in general to hire the services of an industrial marketing group to compete with every other community and state to bring new industrial development and jobs to The Berkshires.

That said, they should think about high tech and an industry that will rely on fiber for conductivity.

The latest proposal – no written document – will pit a large commercial complex (Mall) against Pittsfield’s downtown. Can the two co-exist? Probably not.

There is only so much spendable income in the Berkshires and this sounds like a move to watch the Lanesboro mall crumble, while another surfaces on the old GE property.

In this economy the sounds of retail development of a 200,000-square-foot building to provide 200 jobs, and contribute $300,000 tax base has an appeal, but is not the right item for this property.

Further marketing is needed to forge ahead and make Pittsfield once again an industrial base community.

Posted by George C. Jordan III on August 8, 2013. Filed under Editorials,Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry