PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Construction management company Keiter Corp. is expanding to the Berkshires with a new Pittsfield office.
Keiter is celebrating 17 years of business. It was founded in Florence by owner Scott Keiter in the midst of the economic collapse as Keiter Builders, and over the years saw exponential growth, rebranding a decade later as Keiter Corp. with four divisions — residential construction, commercial and industrial, site work, and real estate. It moved to a 6,000-square-foot facility in West Springfield last year.
"For several years, we've had the opportunity to work with incredible clients and professionals throughout the Berkshires, and it felt like the right time to officially set roots," said founder and CEO Scott Keiter in announcing the opening. "We're proud to continue to grow in a region where we've already begun to build strong partnerships."
Keiter's done several projects for Amherst College and Smith College, and has done work as varied as student housing for the Cutchins Programs for Children & Families, law offices, kitchen renovations, laboratories and the Look Park fountain renovation.
Most of its work has been in the Northampton area but it has worked in the Berkshires with building the barn at Mass Audubon's Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary and Bousquet Sport's 34,000-square-foot-facility, as well as with Premium Waters, Berkshire Medical Center, the town of Lenox, Sts. Patrick and Raphael's Church in Williamstown, and residential clients.
"We are expanding to Pittsfield to better serve our growing number of Berkshire customers and deepen our roots in the region. We admire the Berkshires for its culture, creativity, and community," said Jill Keitner, director of administration.
"Over the years, we've had the privilege of working with incredible clients and partners throughout the Berkshires. We have established relationships with organizations such as Mass Audubon, Bousquet Sports, Premium Waters, Berkshire Medical Center, and the Town of Lenox. These relationships are meaningful because they reflect our commitment to the community and our collaborative approach to projects."
Keiter — both owner and company — have been very involved in the Northampton/Springfield community. It made significant donations to the Northampton Chamber of Commerce to boost economic activity and Scott Keiter has served on multiple boards including Smith Vocational and Agricultural High, Florence Bank, Look Memorial Park and the Cutchins Programs for Children and Families.
Keiter, the company, hopes to provide the best for its clients and work with them more than once.
"We believe in construction being more than just bricks and mortar. We want to be that contractor that's invited back to work with the same clients over and over again," said Brynn Grant, director of marketing and business development. "We're about 87 percent repeat clients. To us, that's the highest compliment — it tells us we're doing the job right."
The Pittsfield office is in the Clock Tower Business Center at 75 Church St. For more information, go to Keiter.com or call the office at 413-586-8600.
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Prospect Meadow Farm Opens New Vocational Barn
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
A charcuterie board at the event displays fare from some of the regional producers.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prospect Meadow Farm last week officially opened a new barn to sell plants and other goods it produces.
Prospect Meadow Farm Berkshires is an expansion of ServiceNet's first farm in Hatfield that has provided meaningful agricultural work, fair wages, and personal and professional growth to hundreds of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities since opening in 2011.
The Berkshires farm opened on Crane Avenue two years ago and has now introduced a new vocational and unwinding space for the more than 25 farmhands who get paid a minimum wage.
"This is a facility for our folks who work on the farm to learn additional skills and do additional work," said Vice President of Vocational Services Shawn Robinson at the Friday event. "So we have a food packaging space, we've got a walk-in cooler space, we've got a floral design space, we've got a farm store room for staff, lunch room, and then a meditation room that we're standing in now, which is when you're having those hard moments and you need to get away from everything.
"This is going to be a peaceful place you can find and sort of find some comfort, and then hopefully get back to work."
The barn was built by funds from the state Executive Office of Economic Development and the state Department of Agricultural Resources that equated to around $600,000, with ServiceNet contributing around the same amount. The structure took over a year to build.
The state's Department of Developmental Services Commissioner Sarah Peterson spoke on how meaningful this farm and ServiceNet is to her and that this place is important to those who need it.
"Places like this are so crucial because they create opportunities for people living with disabilities that aren't plentiful," she said. "People living with developmental and intellectual disabilities have an unemployment rate over 25 percent five times the rate for people without disabilities, even more jarring is under appointment, which is at 80 percent. That means that four out of every five people with disabilities earn below market rate wages and have limited upward mobility.
"The building itself is really impressive, but what you're really seeing here is the result of vision. It's about opportunity, it's about community, and it's founded in the belief that every person deserves the chance to learn and work and contribute to thrive under the leadership of ServiceNet."
One aspect of the barn will be the market where produce from the farm and other local growers will be sold as well as keeping the tradition of Jodi's Seasonal, which previously occupied the location, alive with plant sales. The market will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
"Everything you see in terms of the tomatoes, the fresh produce, that's all done with the hands of our farm hands here, individuals with disabilities who get out every single morning, get in those greenhouses, put their hands in the dirt, and make all of this happen, and this is just the start," said Robinson. "This farm is a little over a year old at this point, but give it another two years, and we hope to be growing enough food to share throughout the Berkshires."
Robinson said the farm is focused on local food security, recently partnering with the Hatfield Council on Aging and planning to work toward making enough food to partner with places in the Berkshires.
He said the barn serves the Hatfield farm and what the employees here needed.
"We've been able to learn the needs of the farm hands who work there and so we have learned that they need a comfortable break space for those times where it's hard to be out in the fields, we've learned that a quiet space for when you're going through something you need to be away from people are key, and then also we have a small farm store in Hatfield, but we've seen increasing interest in retail work from our participants, so we thought it was time for a larger-scale farm store," he said.
Robinson noted that Prospect Meadow Farm has helped the individuals working there feel valued and head.
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