Berkshire Eagle Highlights Wright Building as Symbol of Pittsfield’s Renewal
October 14, 2025
On North Street in downtown Pittsfield, a historic structure is quietly stepping into a new chapter. Once dimmed by years of underuse, the Wright Building is undergoing a revival — its upper floors being transformed into fresh, modern apartments. Down below, newly polished retail storefronts will stand ready to invite tenants and foot traffic.
The project is part of a broader vision, one shaped not only by economic development goals, but by personal investment and enduring relationships. For Berkshire Bank, which helped finance the redevelopment, the Wright Building isn’t just another transaction. It’s a reflection of the institution’s longstanding commitment to Pittsfield’s past and its future.
“This project brings clean, livable apartments to North Street. That alone makes a real impact,” says Matthew Emprimo, Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking for Berkshire County and Vermont, a senior commercial lender who’s spent nearly three decades with the bank. “It’s rewarding to see something come full circle — to take an underutilized building and help breathe life back into it.”
“You can walk down the street and point to places and businesses where we helped make something happen. It really means something to see that kind of impact, right in your own community.”
The street and the surrounding downtown has long been a focal point for Berkshire Bank. Projects like the Wright Building serve as reminders that the bank’s role in Pittsfield is personal, rooted and ongoing.
The Wright Building project is a collaborative effort led by Allegrone Companies, a developer with a strong local track record and 25-year banking relationship with Berkshire Bank. Berkshire Bank supported the project with a loan and also invested in historic and housing tax credits to help make the renovation possible.
Emprimo and Berkshire Bank provided similar financing packages to the Allegrones in 2013 when they redeveloped the Howard Building and in 2015 when they redeveloped the Onota Building, both in downtown Pittsfield.
“It’s about more than bricks and mortar. It’s about creating something lasting for Pittsfield,” says Lou E. Allegrone, Principal at Allegrone Companies. “Our partnership with Berkshire Bank has allowed us to preserve the historic character of these structures while bringing new life to the community.”
Pittsfield has spent the past decade chipping away at the long shadow cast by deindustrialization. Projects like this one are part of a broader effort to stitch together walkability, historic character and livability into a new urban identity.