image description — The building at 100-116 Fenn St. is on the market. The building is owned by the Arace family and housed the popular Highland Restaurant until its closure in August.

Former Highland Building in Pittsfield on Market for $975K

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:26PM / Tuesday, October 13, 2026Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Pittsfield property that has fed many over the past century is on the market.

Last week, 100-116 Fenn St., which housed the former Highland Restaurant, was listed for $975,000.

The multi-level building next to City Hall is more than 12,700 square feet and built in 1900. It is listed by Jim Thurston of Lamacchia Realty Inc.

The Highland Restaurant, on the first floor, closed at the end of August after 90 years of serving pasta, seafood, and other Italian favorites.

"With a distinguished history as a longtime gathering place for the community, this prominent property offers exceptional potential for restaurant, hospitality, retail, residential, or mixed-use redevelopment," the real estate listing reads.

"Opportunities of this caliber are rarely available in Berkshire County."

The Highland owners are not selling the restaurant business, just the furnished space, and the building has leases in its other units, which include a dance studio and the Pittsfield Retirement Board. Yearly property tax is around $13,200, according to the listing.

The building is in Pittsfield's Downtown Creative District and Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP) Overlay.

The creative district, ordained in 2021, aims to support a vibrant, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly urban downtown and determine the best way for the city, through its land-use boards, to control the appearance of future development in the downtown.

HDIP, administered by the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, provides tax credits to advance market-rate rental and homeownership projects in Gateway Cities that strengthen downtowns, reuse vacant or underutilized buildings and help communities expand their housing supply.

The Highland owners, Pasquale, Gerardo and Dario Arace, announced the restaurant's closure in early August, and its final day of business was Aug. 27.

During that time, lines were regularly out the door.

"Over the last month, we have been filled with love and appreciation from each and every person who has come to dine with us, share their remembrances, and express their sentiments on how The Highland has impacted their lives. We never could have anticipated the rapturous response that we have received, and it’s a testament to the loyalty of the community and beyond," the owners wrote on Facebook on Aug. 28.

"We are eternally grateful for everyone who has been a part of our story. This legacy will live on in our hearts forever. What a blessing."

Tags: commercial buildings, downtown, Real Estate,

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Pittsfield Council Revisiting DEI Office Restructure

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:11PM / Tuesday, October 13, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The conversation about the DEI office renaming that was halted by a charter objection will resume on Tuesday.

The City Council will discuss a request from Mayor Peter Marchetti to restructure the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

It proposes to rename the DEI office to the Office of Equity, Access, and Opportunity and merge the Human Rights Commission and Affirmative Action Committee into an Equity, Access and Opportunity Commission.

The Ordinance and Rules Subcommittee supported the changes in August, and in September, Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham delayed the vote with a charter objection.

Pittsfield's City Code prohibits charter states that "if a single member present objects to the taking of the vote, the vote shall be postponed until the next meeting of the city council." It also stipulates that at least four members must object if it is an emergency measure.

Cunningham also submitted a petition, which was referred to O&R under Rule 27, to replace the DEI Office and the Human Rights Commission with an equity, access, and opportunity coordinator in the Department of Community Development, with formal complaints and Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action functions assigned to Human Resources.

At the last meeting, he spent more than an hour querying the mayor and chief diversity officer about functions and effectiveness of the department, wanting more quantitative data. Cunningham proposed an ordinance that he says keeps Pittsfield's commitment to equity, access, and opportunity, "refocuses it on measurable results for our residents, and delivers it at a fraction of the current cost."

Under this petition, the equity, access, and opportunity coordinator would be a $60,000 to $80,000 per year position.

The DEI Office's fiscal year 2027 budget was about $200,000 after cuts during budget season; $106,700 for the chief diversity officer and $58,000 for the administrative assistant. The coordinator would be appointed by the director of community development and the mayor.

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