Finance Committee Tours Sullivan School

The North Adams City Council's Finance Committee took a tour of the former Sullivan Elementary School building on Tuesday afternoon to get a firsthand sense of the shape of the facility, which has sat vacant for four years at the mercy of time, nature and vandals.

Iberkshires.com reports that Committee members Marie T. Harpin and Wayne Wilkinson, along with Council President Paul Hopkins and VP Jason Laforest were joined by Michael Therrien for the walk-through. Therrien is the president of the newly formed Berkshire Advanced Manufacturing Training and Education Center, which has made a $1 offer to the city for the building and its 12 acres. It plans on investing upwards of a $11 million over the coming years to turn the location into a workforce training center and a hub for entrepreneurs, artists and established businesses.

Council has not been convinced that the BAMTEC proposal is the way to go. It has also been considering an established real estate developer's offer of $50,000 for the old school.

The councilors and committee members on Tuesday's site tour reportedly did not discuss the property and it is not on the agenda for tonight's Finance Committee meeting.