Countdown Starts for New Pugwash Library
Not quite a Christmas present, but the new Pugwash Library will definitely be a New Year’s gift.
Completion of the $2.198-million is not months but just days away.
The project manager says, “We’re almost there.” Roger MacIsaac added, “We hope to have our final electrical inspection done in early January. When you look around you can see that we’re pretty near 100 per cent completed.”
Work on the 3,700-square foot building began earlier this year when the Municipality of Cumberland confirmed replacement for the existing facility in the former Pugwash train station, its home since 1988.
MacIsaac said the project suffered some setbacks with post-tropical storm Fiona as well as supply chain issues and difficulty finding labourers.
MacIsaac says the project has turned out better than he thought and it’s a building that will serve Pugwash and the North Shore community for many years.
In the photo, MacIsaac left, shows off the new digs to Cumberland Public Libraries chief librarian Denise Corey and the Pugwash branch staff Archan Knotz and Mary Hartling.
Hartling said she worked in the former library for 30 years and is amazed at what will soon be her new work home. “It’s fantastic,” she said, “I’m almost speechless.”
It’s sort of a homecoming for her as her great grandparents owned the land and built a house there after a fire in the 1920s burned their store and apartment.
Knotz loves how bright the interior is with many big windows overlooking the harbour. She is also pleased to see the solar panels on the roof.
Knotz added, “It’s definitely going to be a very green building. It’s also going to be very accessible, something we never had at the other building.”
The move from the train station will begin in early January and the new library will open to the public in early February.
People can still access books through borrow by mail and when the new library opens there will be a mostly new collection.
Add your comments below.