At its Dec. 5 meeting, the Planning Board approved the design and site plan for the new Belmont Public Library, which will be built near its current location at 336 Concord Ave.
The approval is a key step in the construction of the library, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2025.
Noel Murphy with Oudens Ello Architecture presented the plans to the board on the 41,500-square-foot building, which Belmont voters approved to pay for with a debt exclusion last year. The project is expected to cost $39.5 million, with at least $5 million coming from the Belmont Library Foundation, which raised money from people, businesses and foundations. .
An existing woodland garden, planted and maintained by the Belmont Garden Club for decades, will be preserved. Green space along Wellington Brook will be expanded and will include converting the driveway behind the existing building into usable green space and softscape, Murphy said.
The new building will be closer to the northeast corner of the site, so it no longer meets setback requirements. The building also exceeds the maximum lot coverage requirement by less than 2%, but the project does meet the minimum open space requirement, he said.
Murphy requested relief from front and side setbacks — along Concord Avenue and bordering what is referred to as the “Golden Bowl,” the grassy, bowl-shaped area in front of Underwood Pool.
Murphy also asked the board for relief from the building height requirements. The highest point of the roofline for the new library is 39 feet, but the maximum allowable building height in Belmont is 30 feet.
However, he explained, the roofline around the front of the building would be 28 feet, with the higher roof peaks of 39 feet set well back, “so the experience along the sidewalk would not be of a towering building.”
“We want the library to be respectful and integrated with other buildings along Concord Avenue while also meeting its educational mission for the community,” Murphy said.
Planning Board member Carol Ann Berberian asked about parking, to which Murphy replied that four additional spaces will be added to what already exists. Three of those will be designated as accessible spaces.
With no comments from the public, the board approved the plan. Books and furniture and other equipment have been or will be moved to their temporary locations.
Demolition and associated work will be done in February and March of next year and construction is expected to begin in April 2024 with anticipated completion in summer 2025 and an opening day in autumn 2025.
Board Paves Way for Millions From the State
Bill Lovallo, chairman for the Middle and High School Building Committee, asked the Planning Board to close out the building permit for the new high school so the application for an occupancy permit can move forward.
“The reason to close it out early is because we can start our final audit with the MSBA [Massachusetts School Building Authority]. The sooner we start the final audit, the sooner we can close it out with the state and get the $3 to $4 million they are holding. We can save taxpayers a good deal of money if we can turn this over sooner,” Lovallo said.
The only remaining items are dugout shelters for the baseball and softball fields and the completion of a walking path, which has to be approved by the Conservation Commission.
The original plan had been to install canopies over the dugouts. The committee ordered the canopies and plans to have them installed by April 2024, Lovallo said.
Berberian wanted some guarantee the canopies would be installed once the occupancy permit has been issued, and asked if $20,000 could be set aside to ensure this would happen.
Lovallo assured her the building committee would install the canopies.
“In the spirit of ‘trust and verify’ what is the recourse the Planning Board has if the criteria is not met?” asked Planning Board member Taylor Yates.
Town Planner Chris Ryan said there was little that could be done once the occupancy permit has been issued, and suggested a bond or letter of credit from the Building Committee could be considered.
Ryan suggested a letter outlining the contingency could be a solution to closing out the building permit while ensuring the canopies would be installed soon after they were delivered in the spring.
The board approved Lovallo’s request, contingent upon the Office of Planning and Building developing a letter “that describes a measure of surety that will be acceptable by the town administration.”
The construction firm Skanska announced the completion of the $256 million Belmont Middle and High School on its website in September. The project replaces the high school with a new facility to encompass grades seven through 12. Renovation work to the existing field house was carried out over three summer breaks.
The Planning Board will consider the site and design plan for the new skating rink at its Dec. 19 meeting.
