Attendees on the second floor landing of the historic building.
ADAMS, Mass. — The long-vacant Jones Bock on Park Street is finally ready for tenants.
Owner and developer David LaBorde hosted an open house on Friday night to show off the newly completed apartments on the second and third floors; the ground floor will be prepared for occupation by the central office of Hoosac Valley Regional School District.
LaBorde said he was taken by the town after a walk down Park Street a few years ago.
"Adams is really the last frontier in Berkshire County," he joked.
The reception included a ribbon cutting on the second floor landing of the contemporary staircase with Selectmen Chair Christine Hoyt and Selectman John Duval holding the "grand opening" red ribbon.
"This is really a wonderful moment here for the town of Adams and thank you for all that you have done and being a wonderful partner," said Hoyt.
"We're thrilled to have six units coming online," she continued as Town Administrator Jay Green interjected that the units were "market rate."
"Any vibrant downtown today that you see now in the 21st century has a mix — it's mix of small businesses, it's a mix of housing and we're seeing that come here in Adams," said Green, who then referred to investments including those at 57 Park St. and the Adams Theater. "Thank you not only for coming to Adams but believing in our community."
Minus a few finishing details, the six apartments feature open plan spaces with plenty of windows and light, new kitchens and appliances and master suites. Rents range from $1,350 to $1,800 a month and Bishop West Real Estate is handling the rentals.
LaBorde said it was 25 months to complete the project — at least on his end. Several plans have been made and abandoned for the historic block over the years since a fire in 1996 damaged the hardware store on the first floor and apartments above.
It was purchased along with the Carlow Building in 2007 by a New York developer with plans to revamp the more than century old building into upscale residential units with storefronts on the first floor. The project was estimated at $2 million and a timeline for completion was set for early 2009.
Those plans were sidelined by 2008's global economic collapse and the project was only partially completed despite continued prodding by town officials, who had signed off on a million-dollar state grant to restore the Jones Block's facade. Instead, the developer declared bankruptcy and mortgageholder MountainOne Bank took possession of the two properties at a public auction in 2013.
Some work was done inside and a curved glass entrance installed in the alleyway between the block and what's now the Firehouse Cafe (which provided the refreshments for the reception.)
The 16,000-square foot building and the adjacent Carlow building were purchased three years later by real estate developers Peter West and Corey Bishop as Adams Park Street LLC.
LaBorde purchased the property in 2021, as FP QOZB I LLC, and described himself as the point man for a larger team including Jay Hayes of Wayland North, other backers and financiers, and "lots of subcontractors" who helped bring the building back to life.
Hoosac Valley Superintendent Aaron Dean joined the ribbon cutting and Green ventured that his father and longtime selectman, the late Joseph R. Dean Jr., would be as pretty pleased as other board members in seeing the project finally come to fruition.
Dean, as chair of the Selectmen back in 2007, had heralded the proposed renovation at the time as "the beginning of the transformation of Adams into a vibrant, thriving center."
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Greylock 14U Softball Team Tops Dalton
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The Greylock Thunder 14-and-under travel softball team Saturday ended pool play in its Summer Storm Tournament just like it began pool play on Friday: with a win over Berkshire County rival.
Genevieve Lagess went 2-for-2 with a pair of triples and scored three times, and the Thunder overcame an early deficit to take a 13-9 win over Dalton in the pool play finale on Francis Millard Field.
On Sunday morning, the eight teams in the tournament will be seeded for the 10 a.m. quarter-final round.
The four survivors move on to a pair of 1:30 p.m. semi-finals with the title game scheduled for about 3:30 p.m.
The Thunder, which beat the Berkshire Force on Friday night, started its Saturday with an 8-3 loss to the South Troy Dodgers.
Then it started its third game of the tournament with a 3-0 lead after Lagess tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the first and Marlee Arnhold and Sadie Stuebner scored in the second.
But Dalton battled back in the bottom of the second.
More than three dozen members of the Kolis family stretching across at least three generations on Saturday celebrated 100 years in the home their dziadziu and babci built. click for more
Gratitude was the theme of Northern Berkshire Community Coalition's 38th annual meeting on Friday morning but there was a heavy dose of collaboration as well. click for more
Partners CJ Garner and Marcus Lyon hope locals and visitors alike will feel at home here, where their take on "modern American comfort food" has already found a solid base of regulars in its five weeks of operation. click for more
Firefighters were working in difficult conditions — hot muggy weather in the 90s and a torrential rainstorm that turned Commercial Street into a river right after the call came in.
click for more
he town will have to vote on a Proposition 2 1/2 override to raise taxes in order to fund its portion of the budget for the Hoosac Valley Regional School District.
click for more