PEDA Sees More Potential Site 9 Users
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Pittsfield Economic Development Authority spoke about the BIC's expansion and more potential uses for Site 9 at its most recent meeting.
An 8,000-square-foot addition is planned for the Berkshire Innovation Center to welcome a new company, Myrias Optics Inc.
The meta-optics producer has a partnership with BIC tenant Electro Magnetic Applications for testing and simulation services. They will be able to work side by side once the expansion is complete.
Myrias will bring up to 55 employees to Pittsfield with an average salary of $110,000.
Excavation work will start in November and December; the shell should be up by the end of February, with construction happening through the spring. The goal is to have it finalized by the summer.
A pharmaceutical R&D company interested in Parcel 4 in the William Stanley Business Park was provided a purchase-and-sale agreement with conditions requiring it to secure enough funding to buy the land, build a facility and demonstrate two years of operating experience. The company is currently having difficulty raising funds, so the opportunity remains uncertain.
A Massachusetts Institute of Technology spinout is exploring the park for manufacturing specialty coatings for solar panels used in space. The company currently produces panels in Germany and is considering manufacturing in Pittsfield. Its team has visited Site 9, and PEDA Executive Director Michael Coakley he expects them to send a letter of intent to begin the process of acquiring a property.
"They manufacture radiation-hard photonic smart coatings for using solar space panels and satellites. So it's layers of this product that they put on top of the panels that allows the satellites to stay in space double the lifespan, so it's really interesting," Coakley said. "We had the CEO and the executive team here at the BIC a couple months ago. We walked over on the property. They really liked the lower level Parcel No. 5 of Site 9. We had a Zoom call with them yesterday, so they're kind of in the same position. You know, they're a new company."
In other news, the board officially took away Coakley's "interim" title, making him officially executive director after six years. The board also discussed how to respond to time-sensitive short-term leasing opportunities, after an Eversource parking lot inquiry could not wait for the next board meeting.
"Things like that come up once in a while. It would be good to have the authority to negotiate the lease and then deal with the executive committee instead of waiting until two months later to the next board meeting," Coakley said.
The board also approved a proposal for Coakley to authorize leases that are six months or less including renewal options. The executive director can negotiate the terms, but the Executive Committee must review and approve the lease before it is executed.
Tags: BIC, business park, PEDA,
