Weston’s Wilder Memorial Library breaks ground on expansion
Press release | May 13, 2025 | Comments 0
From left: Ted Reeves, Reeves Consulting; Mark Blanchard, VIS Construction Consultants; Library Trustee Gene Palma, Library Design & Build Committee chair Wayne Granquist; ; Fred Bellucci of Bread Loaf Corp.; Library director Jessica Clapp; Honorary Library Trustee Barbara Lloyd; Paul Wyncoup of Bread Loaf Corp.; Weston Select Board member Jim Linville; Library Trustees chair Deborah Granquist; Linda Saarnijoki, Library Trustee and Select Board member; Amanda Gregware, project manager for Bread Loaf Corp.; Rusty Davis, Library Expansion Leadership Committee; and Ryan Foster of Foster Architecture. Photo courtesy of Mark Martins Photography.
The project will include repairing and restoring the 200-year-old main building and adding a 1,300-square foot addition, which will have fully accessible indoor and outdoor spaces for meetings and programs, restroom facilities, state-of-the-art technology and quiet spaces for reading and work, as well as parking and scenic views down the West River.
The timeline for the construction extends through February 2026.
“I am over the moon that our dreams are being realized,”said long-time Weston resident and Honorary Library Trustee Barbara Lloyd. “We have been trying to accomplish this for over 40 years. Finally, here we are!”
Friends of the Weston Community, a local private non-profit group, purchased the neighboring riverside property in 2023 and donated it to the town for the use of the library, providing the space for building expansion, septic facilities and a park along the river to be used by the community and for library programming.
A capital campaign committee began work in 2023, soliciting local donors and applying for grants. The Town of Weston has been generous over several years, contributing to a capital projects fund that will be used for the expansion and future maintenance. The library also received a Capital Projects Grant from the Vermont Department of Libraries and the U.S. Department of Treasury, one of only 14 libraries in Vermont to be awarded a grant. Events will continue throughout 2025 to celebrate the library’s future and to raise funds for specific items not yet funded.
Click here for more information on the library’s expansion project. While the library building is under construction, library services are located in the rear of Old Parish Church, 644 Main St.
Filed Under: Latest News • Weston
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