Transforming the 19th Century Rice Building into a 21st Century Library

FAIN: CHA-268758-21

Town of Kittery (Kittery, ME 03904-1460)
Elizabeth Perkins (Project Director: May 2019 to present)

The Rice Public Library (RPL) in the Town of Kittery (ToK), Maine seeks an Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grant of $500,000 to support a renovation and expansion project that will add approximately 10,000-square feet to the existing 6,000-square foot Rice building, and bring the 1888 Romanesque-style brick building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act with the addition of an elevator and other features. The project will preserve a historic building while enhancing the Library’s role as Kittery’s key provider of humanities programming, with a new multipurpose room designed to be a flexible space for programming and hands-on activities. The ToK proposes to use $1 million of a $5 million municipal bond and $500,000 in private funds for the Challenge match. Collectively, these funds will help create a 21st century library which will serve as a model for transforming a beautiful but aging public building into a modern humanities institution.