Page 8 - BusinessWest July 7, 2025

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT >>
Pittsfield Builds Awareness of All It Has to Offer
BY GEORGE O’BRIEN
[email protected]
Pittsfield
at a Glance
Year Incorporated: 1761
Population: 43,927
Area: 42.5 square miles
County: Berkshire
Residential Tax Rate: $17.94
Commercial Tax Rate: $37.96
Median Household Income: $35,655
Median family Income: $46,228
Type of Government: Mayor, City
Council
Largest Employers: Berkshire Health
Systems; General Dynamics; Petricca
Industries Inc.; SABIC Innovative
Plastics; Berkshire Bank
* Latest information available
Laurie Tierney likes to refer to Pittsfield as the “Brooklyn
of the Berkshires.”
By that, Tierney — co-owner, with her husband,
David, of Hotel on North (as in North Street, downtown’s
main drag) — implies there’s some grit when it comes to
that region’s largest community. “We’re gritty, not necessarily
pretty,” she said with a laugh.
But if one were to look closer and beyond the grit, they
would see much more — in this case, culture, restaurants,
some retail, and outdoor recreation, for starters, she told
BusinessWest.
“I think Pittsfield is doing a great job of reinventing itself,”
she said of the ongoing transformation from the days when
its economy and overall vibrancy were dominated by one
large employer, GE. “Barrington Stage and the Colonial The-
atre have been a big part of that; we have a great arts com-
munity … we just need more people to get to know us.”
Rebecca Brien, managing director of Downtown Pittsfield
Inc. (DPI), agreed, adding that a multi-faceted marketing
campaign is being launched in an effort to prompt more peo-
ple — especially locals, but also those from other area codes
— to give Pittsfield a closer look.
It includes Hey Neighbor, a program awarding marketing
grants to 10 businesses in downtown Pittsfield, with grant-
ees receiving custom video ads before films at the Beacon
Cinema and radio advertisements on WUPE/WEBC during
that same time period.
In addition, the city’s two major theaters, Barrington
Stage Company and the Colonial Theatre, have received
what she calls “dinner-and-a-show” radio spots on NPR.
“This initiative aims to drive foot traffic, build community
awareness, and showcase the diverse stories of Pittsfield’s
small business community,” Brien said of Hey Neighbor, add-
ing that the theater spots are designed to remind neighbors
that the city offers world-class theater and attractive dinner
options just a short drive away (more on this later).
“If it isn’t daily workforce that’s occupying
the restaurants and coffee shops and
visiting the businesses, then it needs to be
residents that are doing it in the morning
and the evening after work, or while working
remotely.”
These promotional initiatives and broader efforts to bring
people to the city comprise just one of many developing
stories in this community of roughly 44,000 people. Others
include:
• Ongoing efforts to create more housing of all kinds, but
especially market-rate and affordable units. Several projects
in various stages of progress will add more than 100 units,
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JULY 7, 2025
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