GUILFORD — Broad Brook Community Center (BBCC) has announced a winter fund drive to support the major phase of renovations this spring. Thanks to a matching gift challenge, all donations received by Jan. 31, 2021 will be doubled.
The BBCC purchased the 1896 building from Broad Brook Grange three years ago, began raising funds for a complete renovation, and completed the first phase of work in 2018.
The improvements addressed accessibility and safety, and included a new entry ramp, restrooms compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and a fire escape.
The second and major phase of renovation, which will begin in March 2021, includes the addition of a full basement, full weatherization, a sprinkler system, and a lift to the second-floor auditorium.
Contractor Mathes Hulme Builders is in charge of the renovation, working with plans created by architect Jon Saccoccio and site plans by Stevens & Associates. All three business entities operate from Brattleboro.
In a news release, BBCC President Don McLean said that a major portion of the total project cost has already been raised.
“We covered the cost of our first phase and are well on our way to funding Phase 2,” he said. “But we still have to raise over $500,000 more.”
An anonymous donor has pledged to match up to $250,000 of gifts and pledges received by Jan. 31, he said.
“Guilford is a small town, and this is a big request, but the renovated building will truly be its year-round community center,” McLean added.
He emphasized that such popular events as the annual sugar-on-snow supper, dances, brunches, tai chi classes, workshops, community meetings, and theater productions, serve the greater Guilford area.
The building also hosts such services as the Guilford Cares Food Pantry, Green-Up Day, and Primary and General Election voting.
In addition to donations from individuals, the project has received funding from the Downtown and Village Tax Credits program at the Agency of Commerce and Community Development.
It also has received funding from Preservation Trust of Vermont, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, the Thomas Thompson Trust, the Windham Foundation, the Vermont Community Foundation, the Crosby-Gannett Fund, and Ben and Jerry's.
The project received one of the first awards from the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants Program from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The program was renamed in memory of Bruhn, the longtime director of the Preservation Trust of Vermont, who died in 2019.
“Paul visited our building several times, and was an enthusiastic supporter of our project,” McLean said.