North Adams Taverns Planning Moves

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
10:28PM / Monday, November 09, 2009Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Two local pouring establishments are looking to relocate within the city.

The Planning Board on Monday night approved an application to move the Artery Lounge but continued a hearing on the Crystal Hard Hat Saloon.

Nancy and Todd Hebert are planning to renovate the former Quinn's Paint and Wallpaper on Union and Canal streets and move the Crystal Hard Hat Saloon there from its current location just down Union Street.

The Heberts said they have a purchase-and-sales agreement on the building at 55-59 Union St. and have taken out a $40,000 to renovate the interior.

"We've been paying rent to Rusty Ransford. I've been putting money into his building ... ," Todd Hebert told the board, as Nancy Hebert added "We'd like to put it into our own building."

The Heberts have owned the tavern for three years and Todd Hebert said he has worked hard to clean up the current property as well as the clientele.

The Heberts' plan, drawn up an architect, includes a "cold" kitchen, two pool tables and space for up to 99. It would occupy the main portion of the building on the corner of Union and Canal. The second story and an addition on Canal Street would be used for storage for the time being.

But while the couple were commended for their complete and professional application, the Office of Community Development recommended a site visit. Member Paul Senecal questioned the parking situation and expressed concern over parking along Canal Street.

Todd Hebert said the building has paved parking for eight off Canal Street and he had leased 12 spots "indefinitely" across the street near the former Barber Leather Co. from Ransford.

The board, however, continued the hearing until its December meeting and referred the parking issue to the Traffic Commission. A site visit also is planned.

In contrast, Daniel O'Neil was swiftly approved a special permit to relocate the Artery Lounge from its Holden Street location to the former Ace's Place at 68 Union St. The only conditions were that the Budwieser sign and its brackets from Ace's be removed. Parking was not raised as an issue, although the new location is almost directly across from where the Crystal Hard Hat's plans to move.

An application from Core States Group at 148 Eagle St. to update signage was continued at the applicant's request and a sign for Berkshire Realty at 26 Roberts Drive was approved.

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Your Comments

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I love the fact that the Planning Board won't even consider an application until the business has a lease or owns the building. This is exactly the kind of crap that causes businesses to look elsewhere. Have any of those guys actually ever owned a business?
from: Anon	on: 11-10-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

You are clueless. The board postponed the Hard Hat decision because there are questions about parking and the state of the building, which has never been used before as a bar. It had nothing to do with whether the Hard Hat owners were buying the building or had a lease - they ARE buying the building, and will do so once they get a permit.
from: Clueless	on: 11-10-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Hopefully there are many, many changes just around the corner with the new admistration coming in. There will be new people in place who no longer have the strings attached to the corner office. A new sense of spirit and cooperation are sorely needed in NA to both keep exisiting businesses and attract new ones. For far too long every single detail of life, leisure and business had to have the personal stamp of approval from one person. Thankfully the voters spoke loud and clear. It is time for new people and new ideas to be occupying these key offices.
from: Hopeful	on: 11-10-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

The board doesn't even consider the status of lease/buy. What it does consider is the condition of the property - knowing that it's difficult for an applicant to guarantee improvements when the building owner is absentee/not willing/plain cheap. It's a real problem.
from: ditto	on: 11-10-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

perhaps someone could do a follow-up story and answer some of the questions raised.
from: mitzi	on: 11-10-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Like many of other boards here in North Adams, the planning board definitely needs to be cleaned out.
from: Jake	on: 11-11-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Isn't the side wall of Ace's near the river a little crooked? It looks like this dump has seen better days and should be torn down.
from: wondering	on: 11-14-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Who is going to hire the crossing guard to help the drunks cross the street without getting hit. Isn't the city going to be responsible for any injuries that occur from crossing the road because they issued the permit. Who is going to pay for the crosswalk to be painted and maintained on union st. so these people can cross the road. Editor: Considering several bars and a former package store have existed in that area for decades, I'm not sure what your point is.
from: CURIOUS	on: 11-15-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Letter: On Timberspeak in North Adams

Letter to the Editor05:30PM / Sunday, October 27, 2024

To the Editor:

Like every other resident of North Adams, I was until very recently unaware of a sneaky logging plan for a patch of pristine public lands on the south side of Mount Greylock called Notch Woods.

Excuse me, it's not a logging plan, it's a forest management plan, or is it a forest stewardship plan? Whatever obfuscating rhetoric you choose, the timber industry is about to rip 70 acres of iconic public land to shreds, and on that razed ground build back what might be their crowning achievement in euphemism, wait for it, a "climate resilient forest."

You can almost hear the snickering timber industry executives. What we need instead is a forest seemingly impossible to come by, one resilient to human intervention.

Although the city of North Adams unfortunately fell for the "climate resilient forest" pitch over two years ago, our civic leadership withheld the cutting plan from its citizens so we now have almost no time to organize and disrupt the imminent sound of mechanical treatments, scheduled to begin in a couple of months. ("Mechanical treatment" is timberspeak for "sawblades gouging into wood," FYI.)

"So what's the big deal," you might ask? "70 acres doesn't sound so bad. Quit crying, lumber has to come from somewhere, why not North Adams?"

Here's why:

We're only the pilot program. Notch Woods is home to the Bellows Pipe trail, voted by Conde Nast Traveler as one of the top 25 hikes in the country on which to enjoy fall foliage, and in an obscene example of irony, the trail walked by perhaps nature's most eloquent advocate, Henry David Thoreau, as he summitted the tallest peak in Massachusetts. If the timber industry can pull off this swindle on a historically recognized piece of public land, the precedent will be set for its ability to target public land anywhere.

"Hello, are you concerned about climate change? You are?? So are we!!! I knew we'd have a lot in common. Good news is that we've got a fantastic solution for you and your community ... ."

Sound cool?

Maybe you'll be as lucky as we are in North Adams to enjoy the privilege of getting your very own brand-new "climate resilient forest" delivered at no cost by the benevolent hands of the timber industry.

The only catch is that they have to cut down all your trees before they can begin to rebuild.

Noah Haidle
North Adams, Mass.

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