The Town of Dover held a formal ground-breaking ceremony for renovations on Caryl Community Center on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, a short time after fencing was added around the construction site on July 24th.
Town residents decided to renovate and expand the original building, a school built in 1910, with a design that keeps with the traditional look of Dover Town Hall and Dover Town Library. The project involves demolishing the 1971 and 1931 additions to create a 20,000 square foot complex which will be fully accessible. The complex will include a new pavilion at the corner of Springdale Avenue and Centre Street, and the addition will include a community room, recreation room for indoor sports, small kitchen, and self-service cafe.
Since 2019, the Town of Dover has been planning a renovation to the existing Dover Community Center to create an inclusive, multi-generational building for activities in town. The renovation and addition will include new spaces for community groups and activities. A new climate control system will reflect modern green energy standards. New landscaping will help create a more welcoming presence.
Board of Selectmen Chair Bob Springett said, “Rather than tell people what we wanted to do, we asked them.” He continued, “It’s a spectacular day for the town, and a spectacular day for the community.”
Dover Building Committee Chair Ford Spalding spoke to a group of about 25 people gathered at the current building site, “We did not arrive at this day alone,” he said. “We can all agree, it takes a community to build a community center.”
The renovated community center is projected to open in Fall 2024. The general contractor is M. O’Connor Contracting, and the project manager is Colliers International. Fennick McCredie Architecture designed the renovation and expansion.
Sources:
"Town of Dover Breaks Ground on Caryl Community Center Renovation, Expansion" [Press Release by Tom Zuppa] Aug. 5, 2023.
Town of Dover website, https://www.doverma.gov/597/Caryl-Community-Center.
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