Amherst, MA Finegold Alexander Architects celebrated the groundbreaking for the Jones Public Library on June 18th. The ceremony included speeches from U.S. representative Jim McGovern, Austin Sarat, president of the Jones Library Board of Trustees, Lynn Griesemer, president of the Amherst town council, Anika Lopes, founder and director of the Ancestral Bridges Foundation, Amherst residents Emily Wang and Michael Baun, Alex Lefebvre, member of the Jones Library Building Committee, Timothy Cherubini, vice chair of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) and Sharon Sharry, director of Jones Library.
“Great communities deserve great libraries,” said rep. McGovern. 
The Jones Library renovation and expansion is a $46.1 million project for Finegold Alexander, with Fontaine Brothers as the general contractor. Designed by Putnam & Cox in 1928, Jones Library was originally built to look like a residence, with its stone facade and distinctive gambrel roofline. The design features a comprehensive renovation of the existing historic building and a three-story addition to the rear. The expanded library will meet contemporary needs and address accessibility issues while introducing upgrades to security, technology and building systems.
“This kind of project is at the very heart of what our firm does best – historic preservation and libraries,” said principal-in-charge Ellen Anselone AIA, LEED. “We are combining our talents to restore this 1928 historic town asset to as it was originally built, while also modernizing and providing the types of spaces libraries require today and what the community of Amherst specifically needs.”
Sustainability was a main driver of the project, and once complete, Jones Library will be one of the most climate-friendly buildings in town, decreasing the library’s energy use by 65%. This involved examining energy and operational carbon use as well as the embodied carbon of the building’s materials and construction. To this end, detailed energy modeling was conducted and a full life-cycle assessment was completed with Tally software.
Anselone is the principal-in-charge for the Jones Library project at Finegold Alexander. Tony Hsiao, AIA, LEED AP, is design principal and Josephine Penta, AIA LEED AP, is project manager.
The project team placed an emphasis on preserving historic components of the library, including the robust stone façade and distinctive gambrel roofline. Finegold Alexander is well-versed in extending the life of existing historic buildings, renovating Stoughton Public Library and Holyoke Public Library.