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The New Kimbell Building, owned by David Carver for 20 years, has been sold to an out of town investor.

85 Main Street Bought by New York Man

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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Crews have been working on 306 Union St. intermittently since it was bought from the city at auction last year.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A significant downtown building changed hands on Wednesday, the third notable structure to be sold in the past week. 
 
The New Kimbell Building, better known as 85 Main St., was purchased by PKC Capital LLC for $1.65 million from 85 Main Street Nominee Trust.
 
David Carver bought the building in 2001 for $1.3 million from Gabriella and John Bond. The property is most recently assessed at $988,500 and contains and estimated 55 units. 
 
The block that encompasses 81 to 91 Main St. was built at the turn of the last century by two daughters of Jenks Kimbell, owner of the "old" Kimbell building that had been the city's first commercial livery.
 
It's been the home of notable businesses over the past century, including Apothecary Hall and McClelland's. It currently hosts a variety of accounting, investment and insurance firms, and offices. MountainOne Insurance and Investments has taken over much of the first floor.
 
The principal of PKC Capital LLC also purchased a different investment property last fall. 
 
Charalabos P. Bakalis of Glen Head, N.Y., picked up 306 Union St., a decrepit apartment building, for $50,000 at the city's fall 2020 auction of municipal-owned properties.
 
Operating as KCS Materials LLC, Bakalis applied for demolition and construction permits for an estimated $300,000 worth of work. The seven-unit building has so far been gutted, had new windows and doors installed and the exterior repaired and painted. Work has not been consistent, but people have been on the site for bursts of construction over the summer. 
 
That property had been one of nearly three dozen in North Berkshire owned by Richard Doherty early this century. Many of those were cited for health and safety violations and eventually went into foreclosure within a few years or were taken for back taxes.
 
Another major downtown building, the hotel, was purchased by NA Hotel LLC on Friday for $4.45 million. The structure is being called Hotel Downstreet and is expected to undergo a renovation in the coming months. 
 
And the third address, albeit smaller, is just as well known. 
 
The former Molly's Bakery at 27 Eagle St. was purchased by Catherine Cusack of Lakeville, Conn., on Monday for $292,500 from 27 Eagle Street LLC.
 
The building dates to the early 19th century and was home to Molly's for 71 years until the business's closure in 2008. Since then it's been home to craft and novelty stores. 
 
There are rumors of several other ownership changes afoot, including a potential purchaser for the vacant TD Bank on Main Street that closed last year. 

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North Adams Property Owners to See Tax Rates Fall, Bills Rise

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council on Tuesday voted to maintain the split tax shift, resulting in a drop in the residential and commercial tax rates. 
 
However, higher property values also mean about a $222 higher tax bill.
 
The vote was unanimous with Councilor Deanna Morrow absent. 
 
Mayor Jennifer Macksey recommended keeping a 1.715 shift to the commercial side, the same as last year. This sets the residential rate at $16.71 per $1,000 property valuation, down 43 cents, and the commercial/industrial to $35.22, down $1.12.
 
This is the lowest property tax rate since 2015, when it was $16.69.
 
"My job as the assessor is to assess based on full and fair cash value in an open market, willing buyer, willing seller, arms-length sales," said City Assessor Jessica Lincourt. "So every year, I have to do a sales analysis of everything that comes in."
 
All that documentation also has to be reviewed by the state Department of Revenue. 
 
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