News & Updates

Issue 1: February 4, 2025

Welcome to the first edition of The North Adams Partnership’s monthly newsletter!

In each newsletter, we’ll provide you with the latest available updates on commercial, housing, new business, and community development projects.

ADU Law Takes Effect

The new Massachusetts Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) law took effect on Sunday, allowing for the construction of ADUs by-right in single family zoning districts. An ADU is a small (either half the size of the main dwelling or 900sf, whichever is smaller) residential dwelling that is located on the same lot as the main home. An ADU can be attached to the main residence, located inside the main residence (e.g., a renovated attic or basement), or it can be completely detached from the main residence.

What does this mean for North Adams? No action is required by municipalities, other than to be prepared for the state law to take effect. The goal of the new law is to remove barriers that slow or prevent the development of ADUs. This means that as of February 2, municipalities can no longer impose unreasonable restrictions or requirements on the construction of new ADUs, and that restrictions on existing ADUs will no longer be able to be enforced.

Exceptions include:

• Title V requirements (septic systems)

• Site plan review

• Short-term rentals

• Setbacks from roads

• Height and bulk of structures

Read the new law here

Bike Path Expansion

In case you missed it, 2025 started off with huge news: The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC), in partnership with the City of North Adams, the towns of Adams and Williamstown, MASS MoCA, and TOURISTS, received a $17.3M U.S. Department of Transportation grant through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Program (now known as the BUILD program).

The grant will fund complete planning, design, and permitting for the “A2A” (Ashuwillticook to Adventure Trail), a 9.3-mile stretch of shared-use pathway that will connect the existing Ashuwillticook Rail Trail to the Williamstown Mohican Path by way of downtown North Adams and the MASS MoCA campus. The grant will advance the project to 100% design and “shovel-ready” status. 

What’s next? New executive orders have made it unclear if and how programs like BUILD will proceed. If the grant does proceed as intended, the funding will allow BRPC to take on the full project from start to finish as a unified whole, achieving the goal of expanding the trail from Pittsfield to Williamstown.

Notre Dame School

Work is now underway by Moresi & Associates on the former Notre Dame School on East Main Street, with 15 two-bedroom units of market rate housing planned. Construction is slated to begin pending Planning Board approval on March 10.

More about the project here

MCLA Art Center

MCLA announced it will build a new art center on its campus thanks to a large donation made by Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld, an artist and poet from California.

The new center will be located where houses owned by MCLA now stand at 94 and 100 Porter Street. It will be called The Campagna Kleefeld Center for Creativity in the Arts.

The proposed focus of the center will be as an “art lab” for students to explore and experiment with all different types of art.

Construction is slated to begin in the Fall of 2025.

Do You Have an Update to Share?

If you have an update about a development project in North Adams or you are involved with an initiative helping to grow North Adams, we’d love to share it in our next monthly newsletter! Submit by clicking on the button below.