Julie Copoulos

Julie Copoulos
MassDevelopment Transformative Development Initiative Fellow, Pittsfield
Age: 35
Industry experience: 11 years

As a former bakery owner and chamber of commerce leader in western Massachusetts, Julie Copoulos has first-hand experience with the hurdles that entrepreneurs face in Massachusetts’ Gateway Cities. In her current role as Pittsfield’s transformative development fellow for MassDevelopment, Copolous is leading downtown revitalization efforts in Berkshire County’s largest city. The former chamber director in Chicopee, Copoulos now oversees Pittsfield’s second trip through the TDI program, which is designed to generate economic growth in dense, mixed-use developments within the Gateway Cities. As TDI fellow, Copoulos connects local businesses and organizations to state programs and grants that are available to Gateway Cities.

Q: During your time as a business leader in Chicopee, what were some of the key Chamber programs that got traction and are they translatable to Pittsfield?
A: My background was in small business, starting a bakery when I was 24 in Easthampton, and ran it for six years before recognizing the real barriers to accessing resources. That was pretty difficult for me as a small operation and I took a step back, did some real estate and private projects, and found a job as executive director of the Chamber of Commerce in Pittsfield. Chambers of commerce are really about building networks and the interplay between the major industrial leaders that bring jobs and stability, and the small businesses that bring creativity and joy to public and private realms.

Q: What do you consider to be the key takeaways from the 2016 Pittsfield TDI, and are they still relevant in 2024 given the changes in the economy and real estate post-COVID?
A: Tyler Street was the designated district and Sika Sedzro was the TDI fellow. I still hear about her organizing efforts in the Morningside community, and the leadership and community activism strategies are still very much strong today. We’ve also had a number of technical assistance interventions, with technical experts coming into the community. A “Better Block” program activated vacant storefronts, and there was a streetscape redesign. There was a scattered housing study that really helped facilitate a lot of residential projects. There was also support for the Tyler Street Lab, an “urban room” concept. It’s a space where community members and residents can come and envision their community and whatever that means to them, to interact with the elements and public art.

Q: What are the characteristics of the North Street TDI district and focus of the TDI strategy?
A: The North Street District is very heavily commercially focused. It’s the primary spine of the downtown and runs along North Street from Park Square to Maplewood Avenue. It has significant pockets of density and storefronts, and brings pedestrian activity to downtown. A lot of our work is focused on keeping the street active, and we have challenges creating a community identity. The city and local businesses selected an area they wanted to focus on, and they applied to be part of the TDI program. Our partnership did a deep dive in the beginning of the three-year program that’s called a work plan. That is our guiding document. It’s living and changing constantly, but the focus is investment in housing, pedestrian infrastructure, public space activities and creating a more supportive infrastructure for small business that feels sustainable.

A big part of that is the sustainable housing strategy. The city has taken a very active role in promoting dense housing downtown. They focused intently on that the last couple of years, and that’s starting to attract more interest from developers. There is an incredibly unmet demand from industry, such as General Dynamics and the hospitals, but they can’t expand their workforces. The HDIP [Housing Development Incentive Program] programs have been very critical, and we’ve been able to use that program for the last couple of years to promote a mix of housing development. The market realities of Pittsfield are pretty stark. The cost of construction in Boston is about the same, but the wages and rents have been much lower here and that’s a barrier to development we face.

Q: What are the major challenges and opportunities for underutilized commercial properties in Pittsfield?
A: Significant challenges we’re facing here are lower wages and rents, compared to rising construction costs. We are working on enhancing the construction workforce pipeline, but that has been a challenge for us. I’m a big believer in getting as many electricians trained as possible as we electrify everything in the coming years. And we have a deteriorating housing stock, like many of the Gateway Cities. This last year, we were able to seed almost 10 businesses with competitive and non-competitive programs through the TDI. Through various programs, we were able to invest almost $500,000 in the small-business community, and we’re excited to be able to help stabilize those businesses. We focused on filling vacancies and installed several murals downtown. We will build out a tech lab at the Boys & Girls Club. Some of the things that excite me are some of the less visible wins: building capacity for a developer who can come back home in Pittsfield and build new housing stock.

Q: What are the key programs that you’ll be focusing on in 2024?
A: In 2024 we are focusing on stabilizing new businesses. We are supporting the new mental health providers. It’s a really critical issue a lot of communities are facing. We’re looking to implement paid parking and it’s been a point of much contention. To alleviate that, we are looking to establish a parking benefit district. All the funds would go directly back to the downtown for improvements. It would be a very flexible pool to be used to improve the downtown area and foster an environment that promotes mixed-use housing development.

Copoulos’ Five Favorite Activities on North Street in Pittsfield

1. Run at the YMCA track overlooking downtown.
2. Catch a movie at the Beacon Cinema.
3. Have a Copacabana sandwich and Brazilian limeade at Espetinho Carioca.
4. People-watch at Dottie’s before the show at Barrington Stage.
5. Drink a chamomile blonde ale at Hot Plate Brewing Co.