Page 6 - BusinessWest August 18, 2025

The old Post Office in Northampton is one of several recent
additions to the Gleason Realty portfolio.
Staff Photo
Pittsfield, where a three-decade-old warehouse and, more recently,
a cannabis facility is being similarly converted.
As with the real estate arm, the plan for the self-storage division
is controlled growth but eventually becoming one of the largest self-
storage operators in the country, Jenna said, noting that the goal for
the next several years is to continue filling in the spaces between
the pinpoints already on the map.
Tony agreed, while noting that there is still room for consider-
able growth in this still relatively young business, with many com-
munities in this region far from saturated — although some, like
Springfield, have likely reached that point.
“Storage can be extremely profitable or stagnant, depending on
how you enter the market,” he explained. “You have to take a lot of
time to invest in the diligence process and
look at the metrics — there’s square-footage-
per-capita metrics that tell the story of the
demand, and you have to remain true to those
metrics.”
For this issue, we take an in-depth look at
the Gleason Realty Group, now with a portfo-
lio value approaching $70 million; its recent
investments, totaling more than $30 million;
and its plans for continued expansion.
Space Exploration
Tony Gleason told BusinessWest that
his family has a long business history in
Northampton — his great-grandfather oper-
ated a moving and storage company in what
is now the Gleason complex — and with its
most famous resident, the country’s 30th
president.
Gleason said his great-grandfather’s
company moved Calvin Coolidge into the White House when he
assumed the office after the death of Warren Harding in 1923,
and also helped move his items back to Northampton and into his
presidential library. Meanwhile, Gleason Realty now owns and man-
ages the Coolidge building, and the Fitzwilly’s building is home to
Coolidge’s old law office. It’s on the second floor and is now occu-
pied by a researcher.
But enough about Silent Cal. His former office is a small part
(250 square feet) of a much larger picture, with the Gleasons and
their team still filling in the canvas.
On the real estate side of the equation, there have been several
additions over the past several years, including the mixed-use cam-
pus in Easthampton, which houses a diverse mix of tenants, includ-
ing a doctor’s office, a tattoo parlor, a chiropractor, and other small
businesses, said Jackie Janulewicz, a former school librarian (who
also worked for Gleason’s landscaping company while earning her
6 << FEATURE >>
AUGUST 18, 2025
“Storage can
be extremely
profitable
or stagnant,
depending on
how you enter
the market. You
have to take a
lot of time to
invest in the
diligence process
and look at the
metrics — there’s
square-footage-
per-capita metrics
that tell the story
of the demand,
and you have to
remain true to
those metrics.”
Business W est