The Great Barrington Planning Board unanimously approved a new site plan for the long-in-the-works project to turn the former Searles School into the 88-room Berkshire Hotel.
LENOX â The townâs zoning board has approved a renovation and expansion of the Days Inn motel off Pittsfield Road (Route 7/20) by a developer under contract to purchase the property for $1,950,000, part of a proposed total investment of up to $10 million.
The project would add five guest rooms to an upscaled 60-unit motel, create an enhanced lobby and registration area, and add a bar and light-fare restaurant.
Ahead of the 5-0 vote, Zoning Board of Appeals member Albert Harper declared that the applicant for a revised special permit and site plan approval had demonstrated that the âcommunity needs greatly outweigh any detrimental effectâ to the Twelve Oaks Village retirement community on a hillside above the motel, built in the early 1970s as the Susse Chalet.