More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.
Wellesley water and sewer crews will be repairing a water main leak in front of 87 Central St., in Wellesley Square on Thursday, Feb. 10 pretty much all day. The street will be reduced to one lane of traffic, so it’s best to avoid driving through there.
The children’s room of the Wellesley Free Library is temporarily closed for work on the serpentine wall, and to install additional lighting.
During the main branch’s reopening celebration earlier this month we noticed that despite the recent overhaul, sections of the renovated children’s area space were cast in shadow, mostly in the stacks over by the restroom and water fountain area. Patrons and staff noticed as well, and now work has begun to fix the problem.
Library staff hopes the work will be complete in early December.
While the lighting issues are addressed, children’s materials can be accessed in the Wakelin Room.
Join the League of Women Voters of Wellesley during a Zoom meeting on Wed., Nov. 17th, 7pm, to learn about the Hardy & Hunnewell School projects. After a presentation by School Committee members Catherine Mirick and Melissa Martin, there will be ample time for Q&A. Learn about project costs, anticipated state reimbursement, tax impact, and more. To register for this session, go to: https://bit.ly/3mC3Uk8.
Don’t forget to vote on December 7th.
(Mail-in ballots must be at the Town Clerk’s office by December 7th)
The Wellesley Main Library, closed since April 2021 for a $2.8 million renovation (the Wellesley Free Library Foundation kicked in 600k), is readying to reopen later this month. The unofficial town happy place has been sorely missed by the 1,000+ daily visitors who cross the threshold of the 56k sq. ft. building. Some come for the books, some to meet up for work or social reasons, others for a place to use a public computer, or study. We cut the line and popped in for a sneak peek of the 17-year old library’s improvements. Originally timed to reopen in September, the library’s welcome-back date was delayed due to a slowdown in materials deliveries. Well, the supply chain can rattle all it wants—patrons are all but banging down the doors to be allowed back into their community resource.
In the meantime, know that the Temporary Main Library at 50 Central Street in Wellesley Square is permanently closed.
The Main Library is expected to reopen in late October.
The Hills and Fells Branches will remain open for holds pick up and browsing. Expanded Branch hours will be in place throughout the month of October (see below for hours).
Here’s what the public is in for when the 530 Washington Street building makes its dramatic comeback:
Thanks to WFL Director Jamie Jurgensen for the tour. She wouldn’t pose for a pic. Something about not being camera ready. No matter, we’ll get a nice over-the-shoulder red carpet shot when the grand opening takes place.
The Temporary Main Library at 50 Central Street will be open for its last day on Monday, September 27, 9am-8pm. Patrons can still access materials and pick up their holds at the Hills and Fells Branches. When placing holds online, select Hills or Fells as the pick-up location. Patrons will receive notifications when materials are ready to pick up. Both the Hills and Fells Branches will remain open and operating full hours (see below). In addition, those hours will be expanded as of October 3rd.
The Main Library is anticipated to reopen in late October.
Closed since April for a $2.8+ million renovation, the Main Library’s reopening date was planned for September, but slowdowns due to supply chain issues bumped that anticipated opening by several weeks.
When the Main Library’s 1k daily visitors are welcomed back into the building they can expect to see an expanded lobby area with more room for books, popular materials, and browsing; a larger and more open children’s area that will encourage learning through play; a commons area on the first floor for patrons to meet up in a casual atmosphere; a second floor area with more tables and soft seating, as well as 7 new meeting rooms and spaces for quiet study. A new roof caps off the improvements for the 17-year old library, which has the 7th highest public library circulation numbers in the state.
Wellesley Free Library redesign sounds nice
The Hunnewell Elementary School project has received Zoning Board of Appeals approval from the Town of Wellesley, bringing the teardown and rebuild project another step closer to an anticipated groundbreaking in summer 2022.
Before that happens there are several details to be addressed by Compass Construction, the project management company tasked with building the new 75,000 square-foot, two-story, 19-classroom building. Senior Project Manager Jeff D’Amico reported to the Wellesley Permanent Building Committee that there are a couple of “hardship” areas that are making it difficult to fully comply with ADA ramp construction.
D’Amico identified one of the spots as the intersection of Hampden and Brook Streets, where there’s an electrical manhole in the way and “we need to lower the grade to make it work. A location like that doesn’t simply end up being a couple of grand. It can quickly spiral into the tens of thousands by the time you redo a curb ramp, mess around with the public utilities…so we’re going to look for clarification. Is this something the project has to take on,” he said.
In addition, the skyrocketing cost of building materials such as steel, aluminum, lumber, and PVC during the COVID-19 pandemic has added an expected $2.4 million increase to the project.
The total project budget at this time is $54,835,467.
“The number that was floated out at Town Meeting in December 2019 was $52,853,000,” D’Amico said, “So it’s about $2 million higher than we were about 2 years ago.”
During Special Town Meeting on Oct. 25 – 26, there will be a funding vote. From there, a townwide debt exclusion vote will take place on Dec. 7.
The Compass team currently is responding to Massachusetts School Building Authority questions on the project scope and budget of building a new elementary school at the Hardy site.
Traffic issues loom large as Permanent Building Committee members all but tore their hair out when discussing how to increase busing and walking at a school site where it is estimated that 45% of the school population will be driven by their families.
The goal is to devise a plan that will eliminate queueing on Weston Road. When the idea was floated of implementing a circular drive that would go around the entire school, PBC member Suzy Littlefield observed, “That’s a lot of asphalt for 20 minutes a day.”
Vice chair Michael Tauer asked whether the Town’s priorities are “…having green space or is it letting people drive their cars to schools?”
A traffic study is expected to be completed by the end of the summer, at which time the issue will be revisited.
Construction on Hardy is anticipated to begin in 2023.
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The Wellesley Permanent Building Committee met remotely to go over the Main Library renovation project, as well as the many other projects in various stages of planning or completion the town has going right now. In addition to the library, agenda items included the Town Hall interior; and the Middle School, the Hunnewell, and the Hardy projects.
The main library has been closed since April for a $2.8+ million renovation, and originally was expected to reopen by the end of September. Slowdowns due to supply chain issues have bumped that anticipated opening to early October. The Facilities Management department was able to get an extension to keep open the current Temporary Main Library location at 50 Central Street until the end of September.
When the Main Library’s 1k daily visitors are welcomed back into the building they can expect to see an expanded lobby area with more room for books, popular materials, and browsing; a larger and more open children’s area that will encourage learning through play; a commons area on the first floor for patrons to meet up in a casual atmosphere; a second floor area with more tables and soft seating, as well as 7 new meeting rooms and spaces for quiet study. A new roof caps off the improvements for the 17-year old library, which has the 7th highest public library circulation numbers in the state.
Library patrons and staff aren’t the only ones anxious to see the job completed. Design and Construction Manager for the town, Steve Gagosian, grumbled about construction delays saying, “I’m going to have to draw a line in the sand with them and tell them they have to be out of the building by the end of September.”
It’s hard to be patient when it comes to Wellesley’s most-loved public space.
Wellesley Free Library redesign sounds nice
Check back for The Swellesley Report’s updates on the Town Hall interior project, and the Middle School, Hunnewell, and Hardy projects.
Please support Swellesley’s independent journalism and writing efforts by contributing or advertising.
