Selectmen Approve Design Plans for Tewksbury Town Hall Renovations

Selectmen voted 4-0 Tuesday to approve designs for renovations to Tewksbury Town Hall that preserve two-thirds to three-quarters of the existing meeting hall. 

Kaffee Kang, of Kang Architects, delivered a presentation of the designs, which Selectmen, Community Preservation Commission and Historical Commission all gave input on and came to agreement on. 

Town Manager Richard Montuori said the Town settled on the plan that most compromised preserving the historic aesthetic of the current Town Hall, while making much needed improvements to the functionality of the building.

"What ended up making the most sense was the compromise plan," Montuori said. "We're keeping three-quarters of the hall, making renovations to the building to maintain the current offices and also include DPW and Community Development offices."

Click here to view the three renovation designs for Tewksbury Town Hall that were presented as options to Selectmen back in July.

According to Kang, the design includes an addition on the south side of the building while maintaining the aesthetic of the Main Street side of the building as well as the front entrance and lobby.

The designs remove the current wheelchair ramp along the front of the building, but includes a new handicap accessible entrance on the south side of the building. 

Two-thirds to three-quarters of the main meeting hall on the first floor would be preserved, with approximately 122 seats included in the design plans for the hall, according to Kang. 

By moving back the stage and removing the two side exits currently in the meeting hall, there will also be room for three arched windows on each side of the hall in the same aesthetic as the existing windows, according to Kang. 

The design plans include Department of Public Works and Community Development offices and a 650 sq. ft. vault (to meet Massachusetts Secretary of State regulations) on the ground floor of the building, according to Kang.

The Town Clerk's office with a small adjoining vault are also included in the designs for the first floor, according to Kang. 

Town Manager and Selectmen's office would be on the second floor of the building, as well as three additional individual offices.

The designs also include  small shared use conference rooms on each floor.

There will also be a small balcony built on the third floor overlooking the main meeting hall on the first floor in order to maintain the aesthetic of the current meeting hall and balcony. 

"When you enter the meeting hall you enter under a balcony, so we wanted to preserve that feeling so you enter into a smaller space before you enter into the larger hall," Kang said.

The intent of the designs was to improve the functionality of the building while maintaining the important historic aspects of Tewksbury Town Hall, according to Kang.

"You want the addition to blend in with the old building because you really want to feature the old building," Kang said.

Montuori said the layout of the offices presented on the current design could change as the renovations process plays out.

With the designs approved, the next step will be determining a cost estimate for the renovations, according to Montuori. 

Selectman David Gay said he was happy to be moving forward with designs for the renovations and coming closer to having an updated, but still historic, Tewksbury Town Hall.

"I'm really very excited this project has come to this point and we're going to make this hall a functional but still historic hall," Gay said. 

Kang said depending on how aggressively Selectmen want to move the process forward, the town can expect the project to be completed sometime around spring of 2015.

"If you wan't to be aggressive, we can take the rest of fall and winter for the construction and design drawing," Kang said. "We'll bid in February or March and be ready to break ground when weather gets better in the spring."

Montuori said the plan is to move town offices to the Pike House during Town Hall renovations in the coming weeks.

Selectmen Chair Scott Wilson said the designs represented the range of requests from residents and town employees in maintaining the historic aspects of the building while also making much needed improvements.

"I thought you did a really great job maintaining the historical pieces of the building residents expressed concern over while addressing the functionality of the building as well," Wilson said. "I think you listened, and what you came up with is a great collaboration of the many different views you were given."

You can view the designs approved by Selectmen on Tuesday above.