Dunkin' Donuts Withdraws Pittsfield Church Demolition Plan

Cafua Management is withdrawing plans to demolish St. Mary's in Pittsfield for a Dunkin' Donuts drive-through.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Bowing to community pressure, Cafua Management says it will withdraw plans to demolish St. Mary the Morning Star Church.

In a communication released midday Monday, the northeast's largest Dunkin' Donuts franchisee said it was preparing a revised plan for its proposed drive-through on Tyler Street and that it was willing to donate the church building to the city.

Cafua's proposal to buy the St. Mary's campus from the Springfield Diocese earlier this month and raze the church caused a significant backlash within the community, prompting petitions, "A Save St. Mary's" Facebook page and calls to boycott Cafua's four other Dunkin' Donut establishments.

The Historical Commission, which technically does not have authority to invoke a demolition delay because the building is three years short of the 75-year criteria, was also planning to weigh in on the significance of the structure at its October meeting.

Greg Nolan, chief development officer for Cafua Management, wrote that the company values the opinion of the community and its "aim is to ultimately do right by the community." The communication is below:

With four Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in Pittsfield, Cafua Management has been part of the local community for more than a dozen years. We value the opinions and needs of the community, and we are committed to listening to and collaborating with residents and city officials at all times. As such, we will withdraw our current development application for the site of St. Mary The Morning Star Church, and we are preparing a revised plan that maintains the church building. As part of our new proposal, we intend to donate the church to the city of Pittsfield, for use as the city deems appropriate.

This new plan requires support of the Special Permit Granting Authority and residents. Our next step is to meet with the City Planner, present the plan to the public and pursue city approvals. The process will take time, but our aim is to ultimately do right by the community. We look forward to many more years serving the people who live and work in Pittsfield.
 

CBRSD School Committee OKs $36M Budget

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:15AM / Tuesday, March 18, 2025

DALTON, Mass. — The Central Berkshire Regional School Committee approved a gross final budget of $36,643,001 for fiscal 2026, an increase of 2.70 percent over this year. 

 

The biggest cause of the increase is from insurances. The district's active health insurance premiums increased by 16 percent; retirees had an increase of 20 percent, and a 3 percent increase in dental, said Gregory Boino, director of finance and operations.

 

Another large increase was for special education transportation costs, which increased $135,000, "and it's just to meet the actual expenditures where we're living right now," Boino said. 

 

The district's Special Education Out of District Tuition line decreased by $214,350 because students are aging out of those out-of-district placements, he said. 

 

The Finance Committee also decreased the other post-employment benefits, or OPEB, amount by $350,000, so next year, the district will be funding it with $50,000, Boino said. 

 

The Finance Committee discussed how there is a deep need for the community to petition the state to change Chapter 70 education aid and rural aid, School Committee member Paul Farella said prior to the budget update. 

 

"The way that they work makes it extremely difficult for us to make a budget that is fair to towns when you have some that have high percentages of assessment and others with negative it can create a sticky situation," he said.