NORTH ADAMS — A former industrial building will soon house short-term rentals.
Beaver Mill owner Eric Rudd plans to renovate part of the mill building to add 13 short-term rental units to the property, he told the Planning Board on Monday night.
The board approved a special permit for the project at a meeting that lasted about 10 minutes.
Beaver Mill is a 130,000-square-foot building at 189 Beaver St. that contains artists’ studios.
Rudd plans to renovate parts of the first and second floors to create 13 short-term rental units that he plans to rent for a minimum of three days at a time, he told the board. All the work is planned for the inside of the building. Because the mill already has artists’ studios, Rudd doesn’t anticipate a change in traffic, and the building already has “ample” parking in its lot.
Some of the space that will be renovated provided housing for art students until 2007, Rudd wrote in his application.
Though the mill is in a zone that allows inns and hotels, “we have been asked to have the Planning Board approve our change of use for these two floors,” the application reads.
Construction is expected to start in five or six weeks, Rudd told the Planning Board. “By this time next year, I hope to be open,” he said.
In the city, there are 102 short-term rentals, according to a state database of registered properties.
Earlier this year, both the City Council and Planning Board discussed how best to regulate short-term rentals in North Adams. Neither has made changes to the city’s ordinances.