Page 47 - BusinessWest June 13, 2022
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 Lenox
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become a tradition in Lenox. Now in its third year, Art Walk features spring and fall editions. Meanwhile, the Apple Squeeze has returned, and will take place on Sept. 24.
“It’s very validating to see these events that we put together on the fly are now becoming established,” said Nacht, noting that Lenox Loves Music is another event created during the pandemic that has had staying power.
In Lenox, music and entertainment are an important part of the town’s identity. When Tanglewood, Shake- speare and Company and the other entertainment venues shut down at the height of COVID, the chamber began working with the Berkshire Music School on a series of Sunday afternoon concerts, and Lenox Loves Music was born.
“The new events really help the merchants,” Nacht said. “Our real goal is to hold events that bring people to Lenox who will eat in our restaurants and explore our shops.”
Like the Art Walk, the popularity of Lenox Loves Music has made it a keep- er, with concerts every Friday in June and September.
“We run all these events in the shoulder months of May and June then September and October,” Nacht said. “Once our high season hits, beginning the weekend of July 4, we’re packed with visitors so we don’t need to entice tourists because they are already here.”
Shakespeare and Company is another organization that has extended its season to the shoulder months. In years past, the company would stage three plays by the Bard and three con- temporary works. With the expanded season, it is staging two Shakespeare
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sideration while assessing how this location might be best utilized to sup- port the community,” said Scully. “The effects of the pandemic combined with a significant decrease in customer foot traffic over the years and a shift
in banking habits to more customers adopting electronic delivery chan- nels were all a considerable part of the decision. It is a massive building to be sitting empty. The decision to donate the building became evident as we weighed the usage of this location and discussed the opportunities it could provide to the town.”
Elaborating, Scully said that while there have been ongoing discussions about the fate of the building over the years, they took on new urgency with the pandemic and the bank’s deci- sion not to have on presence on Main Street.
However, that urgency coincided with the large-scale construction work undertaken on Main Street, he went on, adding that nothing could really be
plays along with five or six modern plays.
“The mission of our company is based on the work of Shakespeare,” Stevenson said. “We choose our plays thoughtfully to reflect the spirit of the Bard and to show people new things.”
In addition to staging plays, the company also has a robust actor-train- ing program and a nationally recog- nized theatre-in-education program.
Stevenson noted that a high- school-age theater group had recently performed Romeo and Juliet on the Spruce Theatre stage.
“It was so cool to see students on the same stage where actors from
all over the world will be performing Much Ado About Nothing in July,” Ste- venson said. “You could see the joy of them being in that space.”
Setting the Stage
To accommodate all the tourists
done while that work was going on. “Over the past year, and with more earnest, we’ve been saying ‘let’s figure
out what we can do with this build- ing a make a difference,” said Scully. “And it somewhat coincided with hear- ing about the need for a new police station.”
The pricetag for such a facility was pegged at $7 million to $9 million, he said, adding that a new station is clear- ly needed, with the department hav- ing outgrown its current quarters, the town’s former post office.
By gifting the town its former head- quarters, the bank can help save the town much of that expense — it will still need to renovate the property for that new use, said Scully — while also helping to bring some new life to a downtown that is poised for a resur- gence given the recent roadwork and an easing of the pandemic.
“We knew that now that the roads had been repaved and new sidewalks installed, there was more of an oppor- tunity for a resurgence on Main Street than there had been during that con-
Jennifer Nacht
says the summer
is looking very promising for Lenox and its many tourism- related businesses.
visiting these attractions, and locals as well, Lenox has a number of projects in the works to refurbish some of its municipal buildings while plans are in the works to build several new struc- tures for town departments.
Beginning with Town Hall, Mitts said improvements are underway to replace the carpet and curtains in the auditorium as well as install a new roof and gold leaf on the Town Hall cupola.
“The town has capital plans within the next five years to begin construc- tion on a new wastewater treatment plant, and a new public safety structure to include the Lenox police and fire departments,” Mitts said.
In addition to roof and chimney repairs to the library, Mitts said a key project involves updating the HVAC system.
“We’re installing a new interstitial system to manage ventilation in the building,” Mitts said. “This is to ensure proper storage of the library’s collec-
struction process,” said Scully. “And we didn’t want to circumvent that by having someone buy the building who wasn’t going to be able to maintain it or have the financial resources to take care of it.
“We wanted it to be right formula for the town and for the other mer- chants on Main Street to allow them to get some foot traffic back,” he went on, adding that a police station, and other town offices that might eventually move into that space, will help accom- plish many of those goals.
Although there is no specific time- line for the transfer of ownership, which needs approval from the town at a scheduled town meeting, the bank intends to work on a smooth transition with all parties involved and expects the transfer of the location to happen in 2023, said Scully.
The Bottom Line
Reflecting on the long history of the Main Street property, Scully said it has housed different banks, including
tions including rare books and ephem- era of the region.”
Meanwhile, a different kind of refur- bishing project is taking place at Mass Audubon Society’s Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, a popular destina- tion for hikers at all levels. Last July a wind and rainstorm felled thousands of trees and severely damaged a board- walk at Pike’s Pond. With $200, 000
of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds from the state and private dona- tions, cleanup and renovations are in progress.
“Many of the trails and structures have been restored, however, there is on-going work to bring the facility back up to the full capacity it enjoyed in June 2021,” Mitts said.
As for the chamber of commerce, Nacht said that while the pandemic really challenged the agency in many different ways, it also presented an opportunity for the chamber to show what it could do to support efforts in town.
“People are now confident in the chamber and look to us for help with their events,” Nacht said offering the example of a proverbial ‘good problem to have’ at a recent farmers’ market.
“The farmers’ market brought so many people to town there weren’t enough lunch places for people,” Nacht said. The chamber arranged for a food truck run by someone who had worked in Lenox restaurants for 20 years. “He was excited to be back in Lenox and tells people he’s living his dream with his food truck.”
“It’s nice to feel that kind of energy coming back to Lenox,” she went on, adding that energy levels are expected to soar even higher during what is shaping up to be a very memorable summer. u
Country, the Ware Trust Company, and Ware Savings, since before World War I.
It has long played a role in the eco- nomic vibrancy of the town, he said, adding that even though its function will change, it will continue to do so. This was that guiding compass the bank used as it went about determin- ing a new use for the property.
“We look at this as a great invest- ment in community — this is what community banking is all about,” he said. “We say that we exist for our customers, our community, and our staff, and this really is the community basis of it. We’re really excited that we can help make a difference downtown and help make a difference to the taxpayers.
“We met internally as a board and
a senior management team, and our driving focus was to what’s right for the town,” Scully explained. “We’ve been in town since 1850, and we believed we’ve made a difference over all those years and wanted to continue making a dif- ference. u
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