Model Railroad Museum in North Adams Gets More Time For Park Deal

North Adams and developer Thomas Krens have agreed to extend the option that the Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum has to purchase Western Gateway Heritage State Park.

The Berkshire Eagle  reports  after the two parties met Monday, they agreed to extend the current deal, which was set to expire this month, through the end of the fiscal year, June 30, according to Mayor Thomas Bernard.

The extension of the current deal will allow the two sides more time to negotiate a new option agreement.

In 2017, the model railroad museum signed an option to purchase the former Sons of Italy parcel on Christopher Columbus Drive and Western Gateway Heritage State Park.

Both properties are overseen by the North Adams Redevelopment Authority and are part of Krens' plans for the model railroad museum, which he believes could draw hundreds of thousands of annual visitors and a number of other endeavors, including a distillery at Heritage State Park.

The city has been in efforts to privatize the publicly owned park since at least 2011, under former Mayor Richard Alcombright.