Address:
33 Eagle Street
Pittsfield, MA 01202

Owner:
Clocktower Associates, Inc.

Completion Date:
Phase I: 1991
Phase II: 1992

The Eagle Office and Technology Park is an excellent example of late 19th-century New England factory architecture. The buildings are generally three stories tall with masonry exterior bearing walls, heavy timber floor and roof structures, and rows of wood or steel sash windows. At the turn of the century, the Eaton, Crane & Pike Co. purchased the site. By 1921, they had added six buildings to the complex, culminating with construction of Building 12, a large, seven-story building. During this period, the company played an important role in the development of America's paper industry and had a major impact on Pittsfield. A steel-framed infill building was added in 1968. A successor company vacated the complex in 1987. In 1988, the Clocktower Associates, representing the Eagle Publishing Company and the Berkshire Eagle newspaper, purchased the vacant complex with the intention of revitalizing it as a newspaper production facility and office complex.

In addition to the renovation, the firm handled all the necessary paperwork to ensure the project's eligibility for investment tax credits for historic preservation, an important factor in the project's economic feasibility. A master plan and detailed study of the newspaper's production requirements were prepared. Buildings 5 and 12, which together contain half the total square footage of the complex, were chosen for the first phase. Design and construction of the production facilities to accommodate a new high-speed printing press had to be completed in one year. Work included renovation of the lower two floors of both buildings; construction of a paper storage building, loading docks, and employee parking; masonry cleaning; steel window restoration; new mechanical and electrical services for the complex; and installation of a new, 150-foot-long, two-story-high printing press.

In the second phase, the remaining requirements of the newspaper were addressed, including parking areas. Building 5 became the primary public entrance to the complex after receiving a new exterior skin and windows and construction of a two-story atrium. Once the offices for Eagle Publishing were completed, tenant fit-up on the upper floors of both buildings was provided. The remaining buildings in the complex will be developed as tenants and funding become available. All work was done in conformance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, and all new construction designed to harmonize with and accentuate the original factory buildings.

The project was awarded the 1992 Anne and Roger Webb Award by Historic Massachusetts, Inc., as the outstanding example of adaptive use and rehabilitation of a historic structure in the commonwealth.

previous project || next project