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Library's Expansion | Newspaper Articles
Razing starts library project
Mary Jo Hill, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, November 18,
2004
LEOMINSTER - A carriage house on West Street is tentatively
scheduled to be demolished tomorrow, giving the public the
first physical sign that the expansion of the Leominster
Public Library is getting under way.
"The carriage house will come down in a day, if that," said
Patrick Hayes, the project manager with Beacon Architectural
Associates of Boston. The bulk of a larger house at 39 Pearl
St. probably also will be demolished in about a
day.Demolition of the structures and the schedule for the
library expansion project were among the topics discussed
last night at a meeting of the Library Building Committee.
The project will ultimately add 34,434 square feet to the
library, giving book-lovers and others a total of about
45,000 square feet. Parking will grow from 24 spaces to
about 55.
The renovation and expansion will cost a little more than
$10.8 million.
Curbing and foundations for the two buildings slated for
demolition are made of granite that was quarried in
Leominster, so the rock has historical significance. The
contractor will set the granite apart from other debris, Mr.
Hayes said. Large pieces will be used in the addition, while
the city has first right of refusal for whatever granite is
left over.
He provided the committee with a revised schedule for
bidding and construction for the addition, with the timeline
based on a best-case scenario.
Under the schedule, the project will be ready for bid Dec.
21, Mr. Hayes said. And the city could award the contract by
the last week of February.
Mark Bodanza, chairman of the committee, asked when Mr.
Hayes anticipates that structural steel would be brought
onto the site, if construction begins March 1.
The timing depends on whether the contractor is "on his game
or not," Mr. Hayes said. Under the best of scenarios, the
steel would arrive in late August or early September.
So, masonry work could start as early as November? Mr.
Bodanza asked. Mr. Hayes agreed.
Carol Millette, a committee member, noted that the schedule
shows the project only lasting 15 months. With a good
contractor, that length of time could be compressed even
more, Mr. Hayes said.
Meanwhile, according to the committee, proposals for
temporary quarters for the library are being evaluated.
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