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Architects say Wells Town Hall can be preserved but will need $1.4M of near‑term work; new building option ~ $2M more
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Summary
At a public workshop, Lavalley Bensinger Architects told the Select Board the town hall can be kept with roughly $1.4 million of near‑term work or expanded to meet a projected need of about 19,000–20,000 square feet.
At a public workshop, Lavalley Bensinger Architects presented a preliminary facilities assessment for the Town of Wells, saying the existing town hall (roughly 8,000 square feet) has been maintained well but would require roughly $1.4 million of near‑term work to meet current standards.
"Overall, the building has been maintained very well," said John Adams, project manager for Lavalley Bensinger Architects. "It's roughly $1,400,000 to say if you guys were to stay in the building as it is, $1,400,000 would be what it would take to upgrade." He attributed about half of that total to an out‑of‑date HVAC system that would require approximately $500,000 to replace.
The architects also presented a 20‑year space program that projects town hall needs to grow to about 19,000–20,000 square feet by 2045. To meet that program on the existing site they proposed an addition of roughly 11,000 square feet (a three‑story element in the concept) that would minimize additional site work and preserve parking. "We needed to come up with 19," Adams said, describing the program and how an addition could be placed to avoid large site changes.
The team provided two cost pathways: a renovation/addition based on the existing building footprint and a separately costed new building of the same program. Architects estimated the new‑construction option would be about $2,000,000 more than the renovation/addition. The presenters emphasized that the published totals are conceptual, include design fees, contingency and escalation assumptions, and are benchmarked to the third quarter of 2026.
Board members asked whether the presented budgets include temporary relocation costs for staff during renovation; the architects confirmed the published figures exclude temporary relocation and that those costs would be additional. They also outlined schedule differences: renovation/addition work could extend 18–24 months, while a new building could be completed in roughly 12–16 months depending on phasing and move‑in strategies.
The architects said the full, detailed report and a draft estimate will be provided to the board before Thanksgiving for review; the firm will return in December to present findings for Station 2 and to support the board’s prioritization of capital projects.
What happens next: the Select Board will review the draft estimate and schedule a follow‑up workshop to discuss prioritization and Station 2 in December.
