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Adams Community Bank, Pittsfield Cooperative Bank to Merge

By
Daily News

ADAMS, PITTSFIELD — Julie Fallon Hughes, CEO of Adams Community Bank, and Michael Daly, CEO of Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, announce that their boards of directors have unanimously approved a strategic merger estimated to be completed late fall 2026.

This combination reflects a strategic partnership between two community banks coming together with a shared vision to better serve the Berkshires. The combined institution will operate as a mutual banking organization with approximately $1.5 billion in assets, nearly 200 employees, and 15 full-service branches serving communities throughout the county.

The combined institution will be positioned as a centrally located, locally focused community bank dedicated to serving the businesses, individuals, and families of the region. A new name and brand are being developed to honor the values, history, and distinct contributions of both organizations.

“This milestone marks an important step forward for both of our institutions,” Hughes said. “It reflects the shared values that have guided both our banks for generations and the trust our customers place in us every day. Our employees will play a critical role in bringing these two organizations together, serving as stewards of our mission and ambassadors in the communities we call home. As we move forward, our focus is on building a unified organization that honors our legacies while expanding our ability to serve our customers and communities.”

This merger of equals will bring together two boards of directors, creating a unified governance structure that represents both institutions. The merged bank will retain Adams Community Bank’s mutual holding company, with the current chairmen of each bank’s board of directors — Jeffrey Grandchamp of Adams Community Bank and John Martin of Pittsfield Cooperative Bank — serving as co-chairs. Hughes will remain CEO. Executive leadership of the new institution will include lifetime Berkshire residents Gregg Levante as president and Andre Charbonneau as COO, working in partnership to drive growth and long-term success while aligning talent from both organizations and maintaining strong regional insight.

“By bringing our banks together, we will have more capital to invest; deeper experience supporting businesses, individuals, and families; and the same commitment to keeping decisions where they belong — locally in the region,” Levante said. “The next phase focuses on expanding our infrastructure, moving to a new headquarters, aligning our products, and transitioning to a single core system so we can operate more efficiently and support our customers and communities well into the future.”

The merged bank will locate its headquarters and a full-service branch at 99 West St. in Pittsfield, a building recently purchased by Pittsfield Cooperative Bank. Upon completion, the combined institution will remain a locally focused community bank with decisions made in the Berkshires. The bank will continue to invest in local businesses and nonprofit organizations to support its customers and communities. All customer deposits will continue to be fully insured through the FDIC and the Depositors Insurance Fund.

“By uniting two mutually owned community banks with deep roots in the Berkshires, we are creating a strong partnership for our customers, employees, and communities,” Daly said. “Together, we are preserving the vision that defines community banking while building on our shared commitment to this region. Our combined institution will bring added strength and investment to the Berkshires, positioning us to lead the next generation of community banking with a talented and dedicated leadership team.”

The merger is subject to customary state, federal, and governance regulatory approvals. Additional details, including timing, branding updates, and executive and senior leadership, will be shared as the process moves forward.

Nutter McClellan & Fish LLP served as legal counsel for Adams Community Bank. Luse Gorman, P.C. served as legal counsel to Pittsfield Cooperative Bank. Piper Sandler provided strategic consulting for both institutions.

MassDevelopment Loan to Finance Transformation of Eagle Mill

By Contributor
Construction

Soaring Again

 

MassDevelopment has provided an $800,000 loan to Eagle Mill Redevelopment, LLC, which is using the proceeds to redevelop the former Eagle Mill and surrounding parcels in Lee into a mixed-use complex featuring 128 residential housing units and 14,000 square feet of retail and office space.

The developer used loan proceeds and additional financing from Adams Community Bank to buy 10 adjacent properties that will be combined and subdivided into six separate parcels for future redevelopment. Construction on the project, which is expected to cost approximately $55 million, is slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2021, with its first phase completed within 14 to 18 months.

“A priority of the Baker-Polito administration is to breathe life back into underutilized factory and mill buildings that were once integral to the Commonwealth’s industrial success,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, who serves as chair of MassDevelopment’s board of directors. “These properties are uniquely situated for redevelopment into mixed-use communities that accelerate economic growth and expand housing opportunities, and we were proud to deliver a $4.9 million MassWorks award to facilitate needed infrastructure work at Eagle Mill. MassDevelopment’s contribution of loan financing advances the transformation of the site and complements the other state, local, and private investments.”

“Bringing additional housing, businesses, and jobs back to Eagle Mill, a defining site in Lee’s industrial history, will be an important part of the community’s next chapter.”

Built in 1808, Eagle Mill is located along the Housatonic River in Lee. In the later part of that century, Lee was the national leader in papermaking and home to 25 paper mills. As operations dwindled, Eagle Mill closed in 2008 — resulting in the loss of 165 factory jobs — and has remained vacant since. The town received a $4.9 million MassWorks Infrastructure Program grant in 2018 to upgrade the water main in the town and install 9,000 linear feet of new water main to the development site, allowing the Eagle Mill project to move forward. The project is also supported with both state and federal historic tax credits.

“Bringing additional housing, businesses, and jobs back to Eagle Mill, a defining site in Lee’s industrial history, will be an important part of the community’s next chapter,” MassDevelopment President and CEO Dan Rivera said. “MassDevelopment is proud to be a financial partner in Eagle Mill Redevelopment, LLC’s plans to unlock the economic potential of this property.”

Jeffrey Cohen, the lead developer in the Eagle Mill redevelopment, has been involved in the project since 2012. He has done similar, large-scale historic restoration and redevelopment projects in Washington, D.C.; Portland, Maine; and St. Paul, Minn. DEW Construction, another partner and the project’s general contractor, brings similar experience and expertise to the effort, with projects of more than $150 million each year.

“It is incredibly fortunate that MassDevelopment has so many tools by which they are able to enhance the likelihood of our project’s success,” Cohen said. “They provide financing for predevelopment, amongst other things, which is otherwise so difficult to obtain, making their support invaluable to our project. The essential turning point that will lead to the project’s ultimate success was, and is, the approval by then-Secretary [Jay] Ash and MassWorks of the $4.9 million grant to the town of Lee, enabling the replacement of the water line to the mill, without which we would not have been able to move forward.”

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, banks, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY 2020, MassDevelopment financed or managed 341 projects generating investment of more than $2.69 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are estimated to create or support 10,871 jobs and build or preserve 1,787 housing units.