TURNERS FALLS — The property that once housed a Cumberland Farms and was later eyed for a mixed-use development may be starting a new chapter, this time as a library.
The library trustees and the Library Building Steering Committee both agreed to move forward with building a new library at the site, according to Will Quale, chair of the library trustees. Pursuing a new building at the 38 Avenue A site was one of two options being considered, with the other being to renovate the existing Carnegie Library at 201 Avenue A.
The announcement came during a meeting at the Gill-Montague Senior Center on Thursday, where representatives from the architectural design firm Schwartz/Silver and Downes Construction, which is serving as owner’s project manager, came together to discuss the plans and the takeaways from a July 29 meeting where residents had the chance to share their vision for the library’s future. Kelsey Laser, Schwartz/Silver architect, said much of the feedback focused on a need for more community space and improved accessibility, while also pursuing sustainability.
“We do want to make sure that there is a balance in our library building between events and program space, and cozy spaces for reading,” Montague Public Libraries Director Caitlin Kelley told attendees. “I’ll emphasize again that any library we create is going to have spaces that can meet everyone’s needs.”
The Schwartz/Silver team explained how they created four options for an addition to the Carnegie Library, which included building an addition behind the library or to the left. The other two options involved moving the existing library slightly forward to allow for more space to build an addition.
However, these designs failed to meet the required 10,000 square feet of space on the first floor for Massachusetts Library Building Construction Program projects, among other space, accessibility and parking issues.
“To summarize, we’re not really getting the square footage that we need,” Schwartz/Silver President Angela Ward Hyatt explained.
For an initial design at 38 Avenue A, the architects presented a square, 100-by-100 square-foot design that fit at the corner of Avenue A and Second Street, with access from the Second Street parking lot. This idea would allow for the required first-floor square footage and would have a 7,000-square-foot second floor, with an option for a rooftop garden.
The architects explained three concepts with different designs will be developed in advance of a presentation in September. Still, the site choice received positive responses, with some questions being posed about the future use of the Carnegie Library, energy-efficiency options, ensuring the design matches the character of downtown, factoring in soil testing due to the previous gas station on the land and the timeline for completion.
The former Cumberland Farms property was once slated to house a four-story mixed-use structure proposed by New England Wound Care Medical Director Sohail Waien in February 2020. The pandemic then delayed demolition of the existing structure, as well as construction of the new building.
Later, the project was reduced to a two-story building for financial reasons before falling through altogether by May 2022. After a fruitless request for proposals, the Montague Economic Development and Industrial Corp. recommended the old building be demolished.
Meanwhile, the effort to build a new library or upgrade the existing Carnegie Library has been an ongoing process for decades, with the town securing a $100,000 grant for design and planning from the state Board of Library Commissioners. This grant covers 50% of this phase of the project and $150,000 was allocated by Town Meeting voters to cover the rest.
As for construction, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners will also reimburse the town for the project, with a 60% reimbursement for the first $5 million spent by the town. An extra 17% reimbursement will be added to the total construction cost, based on the community needs assessment of Montague.
Moving forward, Kelley explained that once design concepts for what the 38 Avenue A library could look like are presented on Thursday, Sept. 11, at the Great Falls Discovery Center, more information on a cost will be estimated over the winter and the state Board of Library Commissioners will have design submissions for review by December.
“I’m excited to see what we do,” Kelley said.