Lenox Select Board unanimously adopts PACE commercial clean energy financing program

LENOX -- June 17, 2026, Lenox Select Board votes unanimously to open PACE clean energy financing to commercial properties. The board adopted a resolution at its June 17 meeting authorizing the town to participate in the Massachusetts Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program, administered by MassDevelopment under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 23, which allows commercial owners to finance energy improvements through a betterment assessment on their property tax bill repaid over up to 20 years. Town Administrator Jay Green told the board the municipal role is limited to entering the betterment in the tax billing system and forwarding payments to MassDevelopment, with no local tax dollars involved and delinquency collection handled by the state agency. Green cited Lenox's hospitality sector as the most likely user class and pointed to the vacant 41 Housatonic Street lot as a scenario where PACE financing could generate new taxable growth for the town. Lenox joins Great Barrington, Lee, Lanesborough, North Adams, and Pittsfield as the Berkshire County communities participating in the program, which has been adopted by roughly 85 of the state's 351 municipalities.