Friday, June 8, 2012
After officially breaking ground for its new Financial Center in Pittsfield’s William Stanley Business Park on August 8, 2011, MountainOne Financial Partners unveiled the finished building less then a year later at a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 11, 2012.
As the first new building at the Business Park, the event broke new ground for Pittsfield and for the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority (PEDA). The $2 million, 6,735 square-feet Financial Center includes offices for Hoosac Bank (Loan Center); Coakley, Pierpan, Dolan & Collins; Stevenson & Co.; and True North, which are three of five subsidiaries of MountainOne Financial Partners. Together, the companies offer business and personal loans, insurance, investments and business benefit plans.
According to Steve Crowe, MountainOne Financial Partners President and CEO, “When planning our expansion in Pittsfield, we looked at many sites in the City, and kept coming back to the William Stanley Business Park. We know it’s in the City’s best interest to develop the Park, and we think that this new building will serve as a facilitator to other businesses in considering the Park as a desirable location in which to do business.”
Cory Thurston, executive director of PEDA, in speaking about the momentum the new building should create in the Park, stated, “This is the beginning of some great new opportunities here in Pittsfield, and for the PEDA site. We applaud MountainOne for taking this important first step.” Thurston and the PEDA board played a key role in helping the MountainOne project to move forward. Throughout the project, developer Pittsfield Stanley Works coordinated closely with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and with a Professional Licensed Site Engineer (PLS) provided by PEDA.
The Financial Center is situated on a 1.8-acre elevated site in the Park on the corner of East Street and Silver Lake Boulevard. The design and construction of the facility continued the environmental aspects of the Park by including many sustainable “green” building technologies, including: recycled content in the concrete, steel beams, foundation rebar, aluminum window framing, exterior cladding, and metal roof; passive solar heat gain; high R-value insulated glass; SolarBan low-E windows; solar gain reduction window shades; high-efficiency natural gas radiant heating, air conditioning, and on-demand tankless water heating; high-efficiency lighting; low-flow water fixtures; above-code advanced insulation and air sealing; lo-VOC paints and finishes; low-maintenance, native, and hardy landscaping; original topsoil preserved and reused; and construction waste sorted and recycled.
“The trends in architecture over the last decade have been steadily moving toward more green components and sustainable design,” said building designer and architect David Westall. “This building’s sustainable features respect not only the business style of MountainOne, but also the nature of the former industrial complex and the developing technology of the William Stanley Business Park.”
Key players on the construction project included Westall Architects of Williamstown, Pittsfield Stanley Works as developer and Restorations, Inc as general contractor. Companies from far afield bid on elements of the project, but a concerted effort was made to keep jobs local and stimulate the local economy. Work on the building included 25,000 man hours by the following Berkshire County-based firms: Adams Plumbing & Heating; Amenitek; Benchmark Kitchens; Berkshire Fencing; Berkshire Mini Warehouse; Brown Oil; Callahan Signs; Carr Hardware; Century Concrete; Clemente Concrete; Daly and Sons; EDM Services; Fastenal Supply; Gable Electric; Grady and Jennings Concrete; Graphic Impact Signs; Guntlow & Associates; Hill Engineers Architects Planners; J B Steel Work; L P Adams; Martino Glass; Maxymillian; Repro Systems; Southern Berkshire Janitorial; Stevens World of Carpets; Willey Marble and Granite; Yankee Restrooms; and Zimmerman Electrical Supply.
The exterior of the new building has an angular modern look with three distinct building wings and roof angles. The exterior cladding is a copper-color aluminum composite surface, which gives the building a varied color hue depending on sunlight and time of day.
The interior of the building is minimalistic, bright and open, with exposed ductwork, wiring, and structural elements. Design elements incorporate aluminum trim and hardware, 5,000 square feet of glass, and exposed and polished concrete floors. A key feature of the main entrance is a skylight that is 9 feet wide by 34 feet tall, and that extends into the vaulted ceiling, which is 26 feet high at its peak.
The building site includes a large paved parking lot with ample spots for employees and clients, surrounded by sustainable and native-species landscaping. While the Hoosac Bank offices inside the building function primarily as a Loan Center, an ATM drive-thru unit is situated outside the facility, close to the entrance to the parking lot. The Hoosac Bank ATM represents the latest in ATM technology, including compliance with current ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards. The ATM accepts deposits without requiring envelopes. It also dispenses transaction receipts which include scans of any checks deposited and a breakdown by denomination of any cash deposited. Customers can also check balances, transfer funds, and get cash. The ATM is “wrapped” with a custom painting of local Pittsfield landmarks, including the Soldier’s Monument at Park Square, City Hall, the old Berkshire Athenaeum, the Court House, Pittsfield High School, the Berkshire Museum, the pines at Pontoosuc Lake, and Wahconah Park.
During the entire construction phase, a live 24-hour webcam, nicknamed the StanleyCam in honor of Park namesake William Stanley, was established near the site to allow for anytime-viewing of the building’s progress. The webcam averaged approximately 500 visitors per month, mainly attracting Massachusetts and New York viewers, but also bringing in visitors from throughout the U.S due to posting of the webcam link on MountainOne’s Twitter feed.
The 52-acre William Stanley Business Park is located at the former General Electric site near the center of Pittsfield. After years of remediation, the site is construction-ready and provides full business services and amenities designed to attract many types of businesses including light industry, technology companies and financial services companies. The Park is operated by PEDA, a quasi-public agency working closely with the City of Pittsfield and federal and state environmental agencies.
MountainOne Financial Partners, a mutual holding company headquartered in North Adams, has combined assets of over $800 million and over 200 employees. Hoosac Bank, Williamstown Savings Bank, and South Coastal Bank provide a broad range of banking services for personal and business customers. Hoosac Bank, established in 1848, has offices in North Adams and Williamstown as well as a commercial lending office in Pittsfield; Williamstown Savings Bank, founded in 1892, has an office in Williamstown and a mortgage office in Bennington, VT; and, South Coastal Bank, founded in 1868, has offices in Rockland, Scituate, and Quincy. Coakley, Pierpan, Dolan & Collins (CPDC) and Stevenson & Co. offer property and liability insurance to businesses and individuals. CPDC, founded in 1927, serves customers through offices in North Adams, Adams, Williamstown, and Pittsfield. Stevenson & Co., founded in 1867, serves customers through an office in Pittsfield. True North Insurance Agency, established in 1997, provides group health, life, and disability insurance through offices in North Adams, Williamstown, and Pittsfield. True North Financial Services, a division of Hoosac Bank, has offices in North Adams, Williamstown and Pittsfield and its financial professionals offer Securities and Advisory Services through Commonwealth Financial Network®, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser.