The Bridgewater Board of Selectmen will be holding a public hearing next month on the future of Grange Hall.  During the meeting on November 9th, options will be presented for renovating or replacing the facility. 

The hearing is at 9am. 

In 2016, $312,000 was approved for a newly constructed Community Center, with another $100,000 in the Harris Fund capital fund approved in 2015.  Bridgewater center has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a “Local Historic District” since 2000.  The Grange is considered one of the 61 “contributing buildings” within the district. 

Renovation estimates about a year ago ranged from $1.6 to 1.8 million. If renovated, the old building would essentially be all new, but costing twice as much as a new building because of asbestos and lead paint removal.  First Selectman Curtis Read previously said significant heating oil contamination remains under the Grange since a tank removal in 2016, and that excavation could further destabilize the existing foundation.