With a couple clicks on a computer or a mobile device, prospective business owners can now access BusinessPittsfield.com, a site connecting them to important resources.

“This is a site where they can come and get the information to see what types of business incentives are available from the City of Pittsfield and the State of Massachusetts," said City of Pittsfield Business Development Manager Michael Coakley. "And then there are case studies on the site that kind of show people the types of businesses here and how they can work with the city.”

The website is part of Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer's ongoing economic development initiative. The city has been trying to re-build its economy for decades. Tyer says she hopes the website capitalizes on the business growth of the last couple of years.

“Pittsfield has experienced a long period of decline," Tyer said. "We were once a GE town, and for a very long time, we were unsure of our identity. We were unsure of how to evolve our economy. And we have come together in a number of partnerships for the specific purpose of building a stronger city.”

LTI Smart Glass is one of the Pittsfield businesses featured on the site. Vice President Chris Kapiloff says the city worked with his company to condense six months of work to just one afternoon.

"They came to our facility, they met with our general contractor and our engineer, and they worked through all the permitting problems that would normally have to go from office to office to office," Kapiloff said.

Kapiloff says drawing new businesses to the city will be beneficial for all aspects of the local economy.

“The more people that come to the city, the more people there are going out to dinner and renting houses, the greater the workforce we’ll have access to, the greater amount of tax dollars we’ll have going to our public school systems," Kapiloff said.