US: Mill Town Capital has purchased its second lodging facility, the Yankee Suites in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Pittsfield is located in the Berkshires, a region in western Massachusetts that is popular with tourists.
Yankee Suites, which includes 26 rooms, is the only property in the Berkshires that has a focus on extended stay guests. The offerings include both studio and one-bedroom suites. The property formerly operated as an apartment complex but was transitioned to an extended stay facility in 2002.
Tim Burke, Mill Town’s managing director and CEO, said: “We plan to operate it as an extended stay lodging property consistent with its current use.”
According to documents filed by the Middle Berkshire Registry of Deeds, Mill Town Capital purchased Yankee Suites from Toole Properties 2002, Inc., which is a subsidiary of Toole Cos., for $2.25 million. The Yankee Suites will be operated by a subsidiary of Mill Town Capital, Rivera Properties LLC. Greylock Federal Credit Union granted Mill Town the mortgage for the property.
The purchase of the Yankee Suites is just one of many purchases that Mill Town has made in the area in the last few years. Mill Town also purchased the Bousquet Ski Area last year, which is planned to undergo an $11 million renovation. $5 million of this renovation will be dedicated to construction of a new ski lodge.
In February, the City Council allocated $1 million of the city’s General Electric Economic Development Fund to Mill Town to expand water and sewer lines to the new Bosquet Complex.
The purchase of the Yankee Suites led to questions about whether the hotel would be included in the plans for the Bousquet Ski Area. Burke said: “It will continue to operate as a separate entity. Certainly, there may be complementary aspects down the road, but currently it’s a well-run, well operated property that’s a good fit with our real estate portfolio.”
Mill Town also recently purchased the former Berkshire West Athletic Club and the former Lakeside Christian Camp. Additionally, Mill Town purchased two golf courses in the area: Pontoosuc Lake Country Club in Pittsfield, which is 58 years-old, and Skyline Country Club in Lanesborough, which has been open since the 1920s. The Skyline course has been closed but with plans to reopen with two solar fields on the property, an agreement that the former owner forged with developers.
In order to manage the new recreational facilities, grouped together as Bousquet Enterprises, Mill Town hired Dennis Robinson as president and chief operating officer of Bousquet Enterprises in April of this year.
Mill Town entered the local hotel business last June when it purchased the Gateways Inn, located in nearby Lenox, for $1 million. The Gateways Inn, a bed-and-breakfast, has undergone renovations and is set to reopen in the near future.
In addition, Mill Town entered the local restaurant space with its purchase of Mission Bar + Tapas in 2019, which reopened in late May of this year.
Mill Town hired executive chef Jeremy Berlin to oversee the culinary aspects of the Gateways Inn, as well as Mission Bar + Tapas in May of this year.
