MELROSE — Mayor Jen Grigoraitis, Melrose Public Library Director Linda Gardener, Massachusetts Library Commissioner Jessica Vilas Novas, State Senator Jason Lewis and State Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian joined current and former city officials and community members to cut the ribbon Tuesday on the reopened Melrose Public Library at 69 West Emerson St.
In 2021, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and Melrose City Council committed to a building project to renovate and partially rebuild Melrose Public Library, ensuring an accessible, modern library for future generations. The City collaboratively worked with the Friends of Melrose Public Library and the Trustees of Melrose Public Library, aggressively pursued grant opportunities, and dedicated ARPA funding to meet the project’s budget needs, allowing this important project to move forward.
Since construction began in mid-October 2022, the Melrose Public Library had been operating from the former Beebe School on West Foster Street.
The new library facility meets LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards for energy efficiency, incorporates and highlights several impressive architectural elements of the library’s original Carnegie building, and includes a community meeting room which will be available to Melrose-based organizations and events.
Melrose Public Library Director Linda Gardener expressed her thanks to Tappé Architects, Inc.; Municipal Building Consultants; the Friends of Melrose Public Library; the Library Board of Trustees; former Mayors Rob Dolan, Gail Infurna and Paul Brodeur; current Mayor Jen Grigoraitis; Melrose Planning Director Denise Gaffey; the former Board of Aldermen and the current City Council; the Library Building Committee, and all the patrons and residents whose comments, feedback, and encouragement have contributed to and enabled this once-in-a-generation project.
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The library renovation project was years in the making but picked up real steam under then-Mayor Paul Brodeur. In the spring of 2021 the City Council okayed borrowing about $10.8 million, which was estimated as the cost to the city of the shared project.
The entire renovation cost about $21 million and included several key outside sources of funding assistance.
The Mass. Board of Library Commissioners approved a critical grant of $7,993,290.
The Melrose Public Library Trustees generously pledged a donation of $2 million.
A Green Incentive Grant is worth another $195,257 toward the improvements.
The $10.8 million borrowed by the city will be paid off over time. But the project always stood the potential to attract additional donations and addition monies raised that would reduce the amount of debt required to fund the project.
The new and improved Melrose Public Library restores the original Carnegie entrance and the addition offers increased visibility of the original facade. The design addressed a significant handicapped accessibility need by adding an at-grade main entrance, allowing all patrons to enter through the same doors thus negating the need for the 76-foot ramp that stood in the back of the old building.