Breaking New Ground
Watch the progress on our planned 21,000 square foot expansion and renovation of existing space!Big toys
The sun is shining, the wind is blowing and there’s a remote control dirt packer right outside my window! Who knew there was such a thing?
-Jillian
Spring has sprung!
Spring has most definitely sprung here in the Pioneer Valley, and amidst the riotous blossoming there is much activity. Dietz Construction has arrived to dig up and divert some underground drainage piping so that they can put in the new access road. The truth is, the digging has been going on for days but those of us whose offices are eye-level with all the action have not been able to discern the purpose until today. As a small crane lowered a huge cement cylinder into the big hole back where the loading dock used to be, one of my coworkers speculated out loud that perhaps the Book Center was finally installing that hot tub we’ve been asking for? But no. It’s all about drainage, at this point.
-Jillian
Changing Landscapes
Dirt, dirt and more dirt – where there used to be apple trees and gently sloping lawns. At the moment, that’s the view from my office. There are backhoes parked outside my window ready to roar into action and an army of robins feasting on the worms that were uncovered when the grass was stripped away. This early stage of the construction process at the Book Center is like early spring in New England: all promise and anticipation but not much to look at. Change, however, is in the air. Paul Hursty, field manager for Kelleher Construction, is striding amongst the robins, assessing progress and planning next steps. And signs of spring are everywhere. By this time next week, the view from my window might be entirely different.
-Jillian
Work on our new building begins!
We’ve broken ground on our building expansion! The bulldozers and backhoes are in full force. Soon we’ll be opening our state-of-the-art Deposit Library built into the hillside behind our existing theater, a concrete “vault” with shelving for a half-million of our most important volumes. Through precisely calibrated control of temperature and humidity, we’ll be able to assure their preservation for centuries to come.
Adjacent to the Library will be a sunlit, two-story “Yiddish academy,” featuring comfortable classrooms and seminar rooms, a performance hall with seating for 275, a student commons, a distance learning studio, galleries and exhibition space, a kosher kitchen, offices for faculty and staff, and, just outside, a “big top” tent for summer audiences of 600 or more.
