Allegrone in the News: Gov. Karyn Polito tours Pittsfield with Mayor Tyer

PITTSFIELD — Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said she saw public-private partnership in action during a visit to the city on Thursday.

Growing the workforce is in part reliant on "doing more of what works," she said, and she cited continued partnerships with private developers on business and housing initiatives as one thing that is working.

"We are good at collaborating, we are good at putting infrastructure dollars in place ... to attract private developers," Polito said.

A meeting with Mayor Linda Tyer, followed by a walking tour of the downtown, was one of several stops Polito made in the Berkshires on Thursday. She signed Community Compacts with Lanesborough and Windsor and announced Municipal Small Bridge program award winners in Lenox.

In Pittsfield, Polito saw market rate housing, entertainment and lodging during a nearly one-hour walking tour.

"We are really so proud of our downtown," Tyer told Polito.

Development of the three stops — the Onota Building, the Beacon Cinema, and Hotel on North — relied on a combination of private and public funding.

Owner and developer Louis Allegrone said state funding helped close the gap in its development of 25 market rate apartments inside the Onota Building.

"It was that last piece that made it work," he told Polito, standing inside the lobby of the upscale apartment building.

Polito said investments made in projects like the Onota Building result in more people living downtown who want and need businesses to patronize.

"That in itself is economic development," she said. "And you are seeing this renaissance, this re-birth, in downtown Pittsfield."

On the street, Polito pointed out architectural details that caught her eye, such as the historic facade of the Beacon Cinema.

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