Ventfort Hall Announces New Board Members

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Appointed to the board were Joanna Case, Lucy Kennedy, Polly Roston, and Christina Wagner.
LENOX, Mass.— Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum announces the appointment of four new members to its board of directors. 
 
Appointed to the board were Joanna Case, Lucy Kennedy, Polly Roston, and Christina Wagner.
 
Joanna (Jo) Case is a resident of Lee and is the Development Manager at Hancock Shaker Village. She holds an MA in Public History and an MS in Information Science with a specialization in archives and records management from SUNY Albany, and a BA in History from Siena University. Originally from Central New York, Jo brings experience across museum and public history roles, including curation, collections management, research, and public programming.
 
According to a press release: 
 
Lucy Kennedy has a BA in English from the University of Michigan and an MA in English at Stanford. She planned to teach high school English but found herself doing corporate training at a bank instead. From there she went on to get an MBA from Harvard Business School. She began her post business school career in advertising but soon moved on to product development and market research, primarily for banks and insurance companies.  Although, through her education and career she lived all over the US, she was born in Massachusetts and was happy to retire to Lenox in 2010. In retirement she has been able to pursue two great interests: travel photography and local history. In pursuit of the latter she has served previously on the Ventfort Hall Board, on the Berkshire Historical Society Board, the Lenox Historical Commission, and the Lenox Historical Society Board.  She has compiled a history of Lenox at www.lenoxhistory.org and written an ebook "Lenox at 250."                                                                  Polly Roston relocated permanently from New York City to Stephentown, NY in 2023. She was Director of Development at small independent school and has been involved in a myriad of non profits as a volunteer and board member, focusing primarily on coordination, fundraising, and volunteerism. Polly is married with two children. Her passions include travel, cooking, and languages. At Ventfort Hall, in addition to joining the board, she is a Tea and Talk volunteer and serves on the fundraising committee.
 
Christina Wagner is a graduate of Wesleyan University whose career spans finance, fashion, and the creative arts. After early roles in investment banking and equity research with Lehman Brothers in New York and London, she built roots in Los Angeles where she helped to establish the Community Association at the Westside Waldorf School and guided buying and operations for a luxury boutique in Malibu. She later co-founded Bau-Da Design Lab, Inc., producing music videos for artists including Prince, My Chemical Romance, Seal, John Mayer, Motley Crüe, Slipknot, and many others. These projects took her across the country, where she managed large crews, coordinated complex locations, and built trusted client relationships. Christina continues to serve as Executive Producer at Bau-Da, helping to facilitate creative work for major corporations such as Pepsi and other global brands. Known for her clarity, organization, and vision, she excels at turning ambitious ideas into impactful results.
 
 
 
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Pennrose Breaks Ground in Lenox, Bringing 68 Units of Affordable Housing

Staff Reports

LENOX, Mass. — Pennrose announced the groundbreaking of 238 Pittsfield Road, a 68-unit affordable rental community.

The development will bring much-needed affordable, family-friendly housing options to the area.

The community will consist of 10 residential buildings offering a mix of 23 one-bedroom, 38 two-bedroom, and seven three-bedroom apartments. Of the 68 total homes, 57 will be affordable for households earning from 30 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) up to 80 percent AMI, with the remaining 11 units available at market rate rents.

A community building at the entrance of the development will offer resident-focused amenities, including event space and a fitness center, along with on-site offices for Pennrose management and resident services staff.

"238 Pittsfield Road builds on the progress that the Town of Lenox has made in addressing the region's pressing needs for affordable, family-sized rental housing," said Karmen Cheung, Regional Vice President at Pennrose. "This partnership with the Town of Lenox continues to deliver communities that give families of all sizes a place to call home. Together with Forge, these two communities reflect our long-term commitment to meeting the diverse housing needs of Berkshire families."

Currently only 7 percent of Lenox's housing stock is deed-restricted affordable, falling short of the 10 percent goal established by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Additionally, approximately 90 percent of the town's existing affordable housing is limited to seniors, and market-rate rental options remain sparse.

238 Pittsfield Road is located a mile down the road from Forge,  a mixed-income community that celebrated its grand opening in August. Together, the two sister developments will add a total of 133 new affordable units to the town.

The project continues Pennrose's collaboration with the Town of Lenox and is guided by the goals of the Town's 2017 Housing Production Plan, 2021 Master Plan, and 2002 Gateway Redevelopment Plan.

The project is financed via federal 4 percent tax credit and state tax credit allocations from the Commonwealth's Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC), with the National Equity Fund as the syndicator and Rockland Trust and US Bank as the investors. Rockland also provided construction debt, and the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) provided both permanent debt and Workforce Housing Funds. MassDevelopment is the bond issuer, and EOHLC provided additional soft sources and operating subsidy. Finally, the Town of Lenox provided local Affordable Housing Trust and Community Preservation Act funds, as well as funds through the Commonwealth's HousingWorks Infrastructure Program (HWIP).

Haynes Construction is serving as general contractor and The Architectural Team as architect for the development.

Construction is underway and is expected to be completed in early 2028.

 

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