LEE, Mass. - Downtown Lee sees nearly 20,000 cars drive through every day with the MassPike exit for Berkshire County being right nearby. Now their Chamber of Commerce says they’re building on the momentum of a lot of those travelers making Lee their final stop in recent years, and not just a town people pass through.
“We are the gateway to the Berkshires," Alexandra Heddinger said, "and we are becoming more and more a destination, not just a stop to get somewhere else, but people spend time here.”
“As the gateway to the Berkshires, people all come through but it hasn't been a place where people stopped in past years," Erik Williams said. "That is completely changed now.”
Alexandra Heddinger, Erik Williams, and Doug Bagnasco all serve on the town of Lee’s Chamber of Commerce and they said the town’s economy is making a shift.
“The town is in an upswing after several mills closed about 20 years ago," Heddinger said, "and we're finding how to lean into the tourism industry and how we can make our town as thriving as possible.”
Lee’s wide scope of local businesses is represented on its Chamber of Commerce board.
Williams works as the chief operating officer of Canna Provisions dispensary and Bagnasco co-owns Lee’s Devonfield Inn fulltime with his partner.
“We arrived here seven years ago. We're actually New York transplants," Bagnasco said. "And, when we got here, the town was so welcoming, and we've seen a transformation even in the seven years we've been here, where the development that's going on, the diversity, the excitement throughout the town; it's just contagious.”
In an effort to make owning a business in Lee more contagious, the new initiative “A Friend-Lee Approach to Doing Business” will launch next week to help new owners navigate the town’s permitting processes.
The town also continually works to apply for and secure grants for both new and existing spots.
“We have a really cute downtown. We like to balance the small-town charm with progress," Heddinger said. "And so, we're not afraid of having new businesses come to Lee and everyone supporting that.”
“It's got, new businesses are as diverse as a new antique store and a new comic bookstore," Williams said. "So, we're really seeing a broad range of businesses here that support a lifestyle where you can work, live and raise a strong family.”
Looking toward the future, amid new developments and large-scale housing projects, the town’s Chamber of Commerce believes Lee will continue to be a welcoming small town.
“I see the town of Lee just continuing to grow and get better and better and better. It's kept its sense of small town feel to it," Bagnasco said. "And I think that's just going to continue to grow and prosper as more and more business comes to the area.”
“This is going to be the community that is going to embrace young people, young families," Williams said, "and also make sure that all the people who have lived here their entire lives still have all the resources that they need to stay here for the rest of their lives.”
The town of Lee is looking forward to welcoming both new and familiar faces this weekend as they host their first-ever Lee Pride Festival with the help of Berkshire Pride on Saturday.
