GREENFIELD — The former home of the Greenfield Public Library is seeing new life following nearly $7 million in renovations that preserved much of its historical elements.
Greenfield Savings Bank, which bought the Leavitt-Hovey House at 402 Main St. for $10,000 in December 2023, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday morning to celebrate the end of renovations and formally transition the building to the new home of the bank’s Wealth Management & Trust Services, Residential Lending and Cash Management departments.
It’s no accident that these departments were the ones chosen to be housed in the restored building. Greenfield Savings Bank board of directors Chair Pamela Stobierski said in a statement that these departments are dedicated to “helping build security, opportunity and lasting roots in the community.”
“At Greenfield Savings Bank, we’ve always believed banking was more than transactions,” Stobierski said at the ceremony. “We’re proud to help breathe new life into this building.”
The Leavitt-Hovey House was constructed in 1797 by Asher Benjamin and housed the Greenfield Public Library from 1909 to 2023. After buying the building in 2023, the bank poured nearly $7 million into restoration, using almost exclusively local contractors.
“We are so fortunate to have partners and community champions like Greenfield Savings Bank,” said Jessye Deane, executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, who served as emcee at Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Every carefully restored detail represents people who care.”
Greenfield Savings Bank’s former President and CEO Thomas Meshako started the process when the company purchased the building. Though he retired in March, he attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, at which he shared an anecdote that he had a postcard of the Leavitt-Hovey House sitting on his desk when he was working at the bank. He said the building in front of the audience on Wednesday was “better than the postcard.”
“Thank you to our entire Greenfield Savings Bank staff and the community,” Meshako said. “I really am excited about the future of Greenfield.”
Current President and CEO Peter Albero shared that before he interviewed for the job of chief financial officer in 2023, he waited inside the Leavitt-Hovey House. He said he feels that those who knew the building as a library will be impressed by how the restoration process stayed true to the original.
“It’s a wonderful experience to see the results of our work that really started in 2023. … To see it go from a condemned building to a renovated and preserved historic landmark is truly amazing,” Albero said after the ceremony. “We’ve taken some community groups through [the Leavitt-Hovey House], and they are just wowed by the investment and the comparison for what it was to what it is now. I think the community is very excited to see that historic landmark preserved.”
Inside the building, much of the architecture from when it was a library remains, though there are some additions that were not originally part of the Leavitt-Hovey House, such as the handrail on a staircase leading from the bottom floor to the main area.
Rooms and areas of the Leavitt-Hovey House have also been converted to fit their new purpose. For example, what used to be the library’s circulation desk is now the hospitality area for patrons who come into the building. The children’s room is now the residential lending area, which bank leaders say keeps with the theme of the room’s original purpose — helping young families receive the money they need to purchase a home.
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, building tours were offered from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Tour guides explained what each room’s purpose was when the building was a library compared to what the purpose is now.
Those on the tour were excited to see how much of the building has remained the same, including the exterior, which has gone largely unchanged. Comments were made about the shutters on the windows, the gray walls and the red door that signals the main entrance.
Jonathan Leavitt, whose name represents half of the building’s name, served as the first president of Greenfield Savings Bank, when it was known as the Franklin Bank of Greenfield. Albero called it a full-circle moment.
“By restoring one of Greenfield’s historic landmarks,” Deane said, “Greenfield Savings Bank is bringing this property back on the tax roll, beautifying downtown and leveraging this investment to inspire and serve future generations.”
The conference room in the renovated building will be named for Meshako, who is credited with having brought the idea of restoring the structure to fruition.
“We’re happy to have taken the lead on this project. We think that this corner of Main Street is absolutely beautiful,” Albero said. “We’re hoping that other organizations, other businesses, take the lead now and pick up the next project and keep it going.”
