A ribbon-cutting was held June 30th at Windrush Commons, a $19 million project at 910 South Main Street undertaken by Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire and Springfield housing nonprofit Way Finders Inc. As chair of the Great Barrington Affordable Housing Trust Fund Fred Clark explained, the opening comes at a critical time for the community.
“Great Barrington, like other communities, is facing the increasing costs both for construction and for resale of existing housing," Clark told WAMC. "And the prices have gone up a lot more than a lot more rapidly than people's ability to pay for that. You know, in the 60s and 70s, you could buy a starter house when you were starting out as a young family. That's not really possible very much these days. The disparity between income and affordability- The gap has widened. And we need people at all income levels just as we need people from all backgrounds and all walks of life to work in our community and to be vibrant members.”
“The property that we identified for Windrush Commons was the perfect location to house folks because it is on public transit, it's near a number of facilities and resources," said CDCSB Executive Director Carol Bosco Baumann. "So, there are medical facilities in the area, there are several grocery stores, there are a couple of cafes, there's a gas station. So, the location as part of the Main Street corridor in Great Barrington is ideal for people who would like to live in work in Great Barrington and then also it allows them, with the sidewalks that have been put in by the by the town of Great Barrington, and the crosswalks, it allows them to safely walk to town should they choose to.”
Bosco Baumann says the project’s planning stages date back to 2017.
“There have been 19 move-ins so far," she told WAMC. "About half the people are from Great Barrington, and most of the rest of the people are from South County or Central County in the Berkshires. And we have a waiting list of 168 people already are for that particular property. We're very pleased and proud of the fact that the Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire and Way Finders were able to add 49 housing units to the area. But the fact that the waiting list already is at 168 and we're still getting calls and emails every week from people means that, indeed, that puts a dent in the housing crisis, but there's still a lot of work to be done.”
Great Barrington Assistant Town Manager and Director of Planning & Community Development Chris Rembold hailed Windrush’s opening, noting the community backed the project from the get-go.
“The town rezoned the site to allow the development to happen," he told WAMC. "Multifamily development wasn't permitted there before, so the voters rezoned it, also appropriated almost a half million dollars to the site. So, we're really, really invested in that site, and we're very excited that it adds 49 apartments to our to our housing stock.”
State Representative Smitty Pignatelli and State Senator Paul Mark both appeared at the event to cheer on Windrush. In a recent interview with WAMC, Pignatelli talked about rejiggering statewide efforts to address the housing crisis in the smaller, rural communities of Berkshire County.
“I don't believe there's a town or city in Berkshire County that would love to have one development with 400 units," said the state representative. "But if we do 20 in West Stockbridge, five in Alford, 15 in Egremont, 30 in Great Barrington, we scattered them about, we could reach that aggregate amount of 400, but yet not making that big impact and we can scatter them about in the Berkshires. And I think that's more realistic.”
Great Barrington’s elected leaders also praised Windrush’s contribution to the community’s strained housing situation. Leigh Davis is vice president of the town’s selectboard and chair of the housing subcommittee, as well as Director of Communications for Construct Inc. — another Southern Berkshire housing nonprofit that recently secured the former Windflower Inn property in Great Barrington to preserve it for workforce housing.
“Great Barrington is very, very progressive, and we’re keeping an ear out on developments coming on stream, talking to developers, talking to property owners, and making sure that we are aware of properties coming possibly coming on stream that could be kept affordable and for the residents to remain in their home," Davis told WAMC. "So, with developments such as the CDC’s Windrush and with other developments such as Construct’s Windflower, it's all moving in the right direction.”
Bosco Baumann says fully understanding the opening of Windrush Commons means looking beyond just the numbers associated with the new housing development.
“These are our co-workers, our educators, our essential workers, and our friends and family," she told WAMC. "They are listeners, children's classmates, or their grandchildren's classmates, and most of all, they're a part of the glue that holds this community together. So, their commitment to wanting to stay in or move back to or move to Great Barrington enriches our neighborhoods, our schools, our businesses and our local economy. So, in that sense, housing affordability and economic development are inherently intertwined. And it's important to remember that.”
Windrush Commons is managed by Pittsfield-based Berkshire Housing, and was designed by Elton and Hampton Architects of Boston.
