While there is a large local affordable housing problem, nothing big ever seems to happen to address the issue. But more small efforts are helping, and Heather Bellow reports for The Berkshire Eagle that a non-profit has bought a downtown Great Barrington building to stabilize the rents of six units upstairs. Last week, the Community Development Corp. of South Berkshire bought the building for $1.6 million to keep the six workforce housing units. The William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty company currently operates out of the two storefronts at street level in the building on Main St. A statement from the Community Development Corp. said, “With this purchase, the CDCSB plans to ensure that all current tenants receive the protection of an annual lease and complete the renovation of an unoccupied unit." The CDCSB’s Executive Director Carol Bosco Baumann said, “We hear from a lot of businesses through our Small Business Technical Assistance program that a lack of workers is one of the biggest impediments to their economic growth and/or stability — and owners who have hour-long commutes that exacerbate an already long day.” While retaining the six apartments helps the large problem, the nonprofit will also open a new, 49-unit affordable housing complex, later this month. Read more about this story in The Berkshire Eagle.