Tim Burke
With a mission to bring his struggling home region of Dalton and Pittsfield, Massachusetts back to life, Dave Mixer founded Mill Town Capital in 2016 and created a unique investment model focused on sustainability that can be replicated by other municipalities.
The Mill Town model takes a place-based, multifaceted approach, focusing on what’s best for the city in need of revitalization and its surrounding area, and aims to generate long-term financial returns while advancing sustainable transformation.
It leverages a mix of traditional investments, impact investments – key assets and projects deemed to have a high potential impact on their region – and pure philanthropic community work to drive continual economic development and make a city a more desirable place to live.
Here’s an inside look at how our team in Pittsfield utilized this unique mix of collaboration and strategic investments to rejuvenate our hometown by improving the quality of life for residents and driving sustainable change, and tips for how other towns can replicate our process.
Revitalize Quality of Life with Homes, Businesses
In Pittsfield, poor housing had begun to impact economic development, as employers struggled to recruit due to lack of housing options. Despite having lost nearly one-third of its population, Pittsfield faced a shortage of quality housing and many residents suffered from poor living conditions, including deteriorating homes.
To meet a wide spectrum of housing needs and create a community residents and future generations could be proud to call home, Mill Town invested in housing development and long-term property management.
We revitalized derelict buildings and added more than 60 new housing units, and acquired and improved single-family homes, multi-family rental units, and mixed-use properties with commercial space for local businesses. By investing in local enterprises, including restaurants and retail establishments, we broadened access to amenities, created job opportunities and ultimately improved quality of life for residents, business owners and visitors.
In an example of the power of private investment, the city of Pittsfield followed private housing investments with a $3 million public investment into streetscape improvements in this particular neighborhood.
Get Strategic to Highlight Opportunities
One of the goals of urban renewal is transformation without compromise to a neighborhood’s traditional identity. Highlighting an identity, perhaps a town’s charm or offering, can be a powerful way to draw investment needed to protect it.
To safeguard Pittsfield’s heritage as the largest city in the heart of the Berkshires, we focused on one of its greatest, most unique assets as an impact investment: the iconic Bousquet Ski Area.
We invested in modernization and worked with local government officials to bring water and sewer lines to the area, breathing life into the resort and the surrounding businesses that catered to its needs and visitors.
Impact investments like this pave the way for greater economic opportunity. To maximize investment in the Bousquet Ski Resort area and draw continual traffic to the region, Mill Town also invested in a nearby athletic center (now known as Bousquet Sport) and in Camp Arrow Wood, a summer sleep-away camp for kids that provides camp activities throughout the year.
In addition to being tourist draws, these facilities provide valuable resources for residents, fostering a culture of health, wellness and community engagement.
Community Partnerships Create Connection
Through strategic investments and collaborative partnerships with community organizations, philanthropic work can enhance the livability of a city and drive sustainable change in communities.
Mill Town Foundation, the charitable arm of Mill Town Capital and a 501(c)(3) entity, partners with community organizations, including the Cultural Department of the city of Pittsfield and the Barrington Stage Co., to promote accessible, sustainable, and beneficial arts programs for residents of all ages. To provide valuable green spaces and connection with nearby communities, we’ve spearheaded the creation of parks and we work with the Berkshire Natural Resource Council to provide a county-wide trail network.
Our education initiatives include working with the local school system and afterschool programs. We partner with Community Health Programs and Volunteers in Medicine to foster health and wellness, and the Berkshire Dream Center to ensure residents’ basic needs – including food, clothing, education and community – are met. We also rely on community partnerships to foster community engagement, support local artists and beautify our city through downtown clean-up efforts and the creation of murals and public art projects.
Every city has unique revitalization needs and valuable character to protect. A sustainable investment model that blends traditional, impact and philanthropic investment can guide investors and empower them to play critical roles in understanding renewal needs and financing revitalization projects. The investment diversification minimizes risk and broadens the pool of potential supporters, enabling investors to expand their reach and their potential.
Mill Town’s investment in Pittsfield is still in its early stages, but the city’s progress speaks to the potential of our model. Through investments and partnerships, we’ve developed housing solutions and economic opportunities and helped to foster a quality lifestyle that provides for a rich and rewarding hometown to the more than 40,000 people who call Pittsfield home and for many generations that follow.
We look forward to seeing the city’s future unfold and are confident that its success can be replicated by other municipalities.
Tim Burke is CEO of Mill Town Capital
