#MiddletownRI has a March 20 open house planned for 5-7 pm at 110 Enterprise Center to see the new proposed home for the Middletown Public Library. Tours will be offered along with questions and answers about the project, the benefits and more.
OPEN HOUSE PLANNED FOR NEW LIBRARY BUILDING
MIDDLETOWN, RI (MARCH 12, 2025) – Curious to see the new home for the Middletown Public Library?
There’s an open house scheduled for Thursday, March 20 at 5-7 pm for residents, businesspeople, and guests for walk throughs of 110 Enterprise Center.
Library staff and those involved with the project will lead tours and answer questions about the effort, which is not expected to cost residents anything in new taxes.
Library Director Kimberly Usselman said everyone is excited about the project and the limitless potential for the new single-story building behind Town Hall.
“Right now, the building is really a blank slate and nothing has been done yet to transform it into our library,” Usselman said. “It’s up to us and the community to come up with the best plan. I know every time I’m there, it inspires me with new ideas about all the possibilities. It’s an amazing space and we can’t wait to share it.”
Don Morin agreed. Morin is the chair of the recently formed Middletown Public Library Building Committee, a volunteer board heading the remaking of the property from a high-end office space to a community library, both inside and out.
Generally, the library building committee meets the first and third Wednesdays of each month at 6 pm in the Kempenaar Community Room of the Middletown Police Station. Starting on April 16, the group will hold its meetings at the Middletown Public Library itself. For more information about the group’s work, visit https://mdl.town/MPLBC online.
"The town is very fortunate that the Town Administrator and Town Council were able to acquire this building when they did,” Morin said. “This will save the town millions and shave many months off our original timeline. I'm really excited about the project and agree with Kim, we have a great opportunity to make the new library a true focal point for the entire community.”
Seizing on the “opportunity of a lifetime,” the Town Council approved the purchase of 110 Enterprise Center in October 2024.
The amount of interest in the property from developers was one reason the town moved quickly to buy the 3.5-acre lot and 29,952-square-foot building for $3.3 million.
Another was the potential $32 million price tag for a new library on West Main Road as part of the Middletown Center project at 600-740 West Main Road.
The move to 110 Enterprise Center saves taxpayers at least $14 million dollars — even after renovations were factored in — compared to constructing a new library on the site now home to the Kennedy School at 740 West Main Road.
Library officials also said the community also gets a far better building than anything that could be built on West Main Road at a fraction of the cost. This includes:
- A single-story structure laid out for maximum use of every available space for library and related functions.
- A new multi-use meeting area that can remain open after the library operations have closed for the day.
- Several smaller meeting rooms, small group rooms, and individual study rooms, as well as a children’s program room and a teen gaming room are all on the priority list.
- More outdoor programing for people of all ages, particularly on the front grassy lawn area.
- Youth activities can be run safely and comfortably outside without concern about the traffic on West Main Road.
- The library doesn’t need to close during renovations at 110 Enterprise Center and can move in with much less interruptions to normal operations.
- Library volunteers can expand their bookstore and similar operations.
- There’s a dedicated space — complete with an exterior rolling door — where books and materials can be worked on without interfering with normal library operations, something not possible in the existing facility.
- With a space that’s two-and-a-half times the size of the existing location at 700 West Main Road, the library has an opportunity to expand its best offerings.
- There’s more room for on-site storage and the rental of off-site storage will not be required anymore.
- By being centrally located in beautiful surroundings, the library will develop into a true hub for the community and the number of visits and circulation numbers are expected to grow in time.
- Town officials continue to work with state leaders to get multiple bus lines to directly service the new library, with existing runs nearby already on East Main Road.
- The new library is closer to all Middletown schools and not directly on a heavily travelled roadway.
Originally, the new library was going to be part of Middletown Center around the corner on property now home to the former Kennedy School.
By removing the library component from Middletown Center, there’s close to 5 acres of open space now available into a community space at the northern section of the property.
At the March 17 council meeting, the Middletown Center Citizens Advisory Committee (MCCAC) will be asked to reconvene in coming weeks and come up with a plan for the open space area.
As part of its efforts, the MCCAC will be asked to work with the developers of Middletown Center and the family of Sgt. Christopher S. Potts as well as the town’s Open Space & Fields and Citizens Memorial committees.
The volunteer group’s mission will be to turn the open space into a focal point for the community that complements and integrates the surrounding neighborhoods, not limited to Coddington Cove, The Landings, Middletown Center, Wood Road and more.
MCCAC will be given 12 months to do its work and report back to the Town Council with its recommendations for approval.
As originally conceived, that 31,551-square-foot West Main Road library was projected to have an upfront cost of at least $32 million — before reimbursements. To view the library’s planning document for a new facility, visit https://mdl.town/MPL-Building-Plan online.
The way the Enterprise Center arrangement is laid out up front, the project won’t hit the tax rate or cost local property owners a cent in new taxes.
That’s because the town will use a mix of state reimbursements and debt rolling off the books and money from the town’s 50-year agreement for emergency services to the Balfour Beatty Communities neighborhoods off Coddington Highway and Greene Lane to cover the cost of the new library and related expenses.
Town officials have said the developers of Middletown Center were never going to pay for any portion of the new library, whether on West Main Road or Enterprise Center.
The town has talked for years about replacing its aging, crumbling library at 700 West Main Road.
Built in the 1940s as a daycare center for the Navy, the structure has undergone extensive Band-Aiding to keep it open. This includes reinforcing the concrete floors because they collapsed at least twice from the weight of the book stacks. There’s also costly HVAC repairs almost yearly to keep the heat on in the winter and air conditioning on in the summer, which is important for a building designated as a cooling and warming center.
Instead of continuing to spend good money after bad on the 13,300-square-foot building, the new library was envisioned at the northern portion of Middletown Center.
But because of the rising construction costs, the complexity and time involved with putting
together a new building and the potential of savings of $14 million plus, the 110 Enterprise
Center location emerged as a viable, exciting option.
From the street, 110 Enterprise offers an open, welcoming feel, with plenty of open space and a patio area available immediately for outdoor programming. There’s also a good amount of parking so additional spaces shouldn’t be needed.
Inside, town officials said the building offers a friendly, inviting space for a modern library operation, with windows throughout to provide natural lighting.
Ideally, the new library is expected to be open in two years, although those involved have said they’d like to beat those estimates — if possible.
“We have a really good group of people working on this project,” Usselman said. “There’s a lot of momentum building behind us. We can’t wait to show off the building as it currently is on Thursday, March 20, and that way people will see for themselves the before, and then the after. I hope we have a strong turnout.”
Document Link: https://mdl.town/Library-Open-House
About Middletown
The Town of Middletown is a vibrant municipality located on Aquidneck Island, known for its scenic beauty, historic landmarks, diverse economy and strong sense of community. For more information about all we have to offer, visit MiddletownRI.gov online.
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