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The new terminal for Harriman & West makes its way down the airport's entrance to its new location.

North Adams Moves New Airport Administrative Building

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Thursday was moving day at Harriman & West Airport as the new administrative building was shifted 150 yards onto its new foundation parallel to the runway. 
 
A crew from Wolfe House & Building Movers of Bernville, Pa., had lifted the two-story building off its original pad and onto a motorized trailer for the short hike around the corner. 
 
The 20-year-old building had housed a medical practice and was constructed on land leased from the airport. The practice, which had come under the umbrella of the former Northern Berkshire Healthcare, moved several years ago to the main campus of the former hospital. The building was donated to the city by Berkshire Health Systems, which did not have a need for it after acquiring NBH's assets. 
 
The gaining the structure was a lucky break for the airport, which had planned on building a $4 million contemporary terminal several years ago. Harriman & West had been found to be among 17 airports in the state with deficient administrative buildings.
 
The funding was to come largely from the Aeronautics Division of the state Department of Transportation. North Adams was designated to be award the funds in a second round of grants but the funding dried up at that time. Last year, the Airport Commission proposed revamping the medical practice, which will be funded through MassDOT. 
 
The structure will contain administrative offices and a small public restaurant, although that will be slightly larger than the previous version with 62 seats. The second floor will also hold offices, storage and mechanicals. 
 
The total cost of the move and renovation is $3.6 million. Officials are hoping it will bring more attention to the airport by providing an area for residents and visitors to gather. 
 
The move took about two hours and drew a crowd of onlookers despite the frigid cold. One electrical line had to be moved but no traffic was affected. DA Sullivan & Sons was awarded the contract to transform the structure. 
 
See more photos from the move here; a live feed from the first part of the move available here

Tags: airport,   airport terminal,   big move,   harriman west,   

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North Adams Council to Take Up Sullivan School Sale

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council will be asked Tuesday to authorize the sale of Sullivan School to Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art Foundation for $50,000. 
 
The nonprofit plans to turn the long vacant school into affordable artists' housing and use classrooms on the lower level for music education in the summer. The proposal will create short-term rental spaces and condominiums catering to artists, designers and production personnel along with single-family modular housing on the 12-acre property.  
 
"Through a carefully planned redevelopment process, we aim to create a multi-use space that serves the needs of residents, uplifts the neighborhood, and upholds the property as a beneficial community asset," according to the foundation's proposal, along with the wooded parcel. "Our vision will reimagine this landscape as a community amenity, extending existing pathways and responding to Kemp Park to create an activated and accessible neighborhood green space." 
 
Mayor Jennifer Macksey is asking the council to OK the plans on Tuesday to allow the foundation's 120-due diligence to begin immediately. 
 
Michael Murphy Studio and Creative Development Partners are listed as the designers and developers of the $15 million project. 
 
Sullivan School, built as East School in 1965, has been closed since Colegrove Park Elementary School opened in 2016. The property — valued at $2.6 million in 2024 — has been put out to bid several times in the last decade and twice the City Council has rejected proposals for reuse. 
 
In 2020, the newly formed Berkshire Advanced Manufacturing Training and Education Center had offered a $1 and the promise to invest $14 million into the deteriorating building to turn it into a workforce training center and entrepreneurship hub. 
 
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