This move will allow the library to move into the existing town hall once that building is vacated and paves the way for the current library building, which is an old train depot, to be used as a transportation museum in the future, Mayor Julia Meacham said this afternoon.
The town received the deed for the building Monday, after negotiating a $49,000 deal to buy the building, which was built in 1916.
Meacham said the town has been in negotiations to buy the building since the spring. The only unknown in the deal is whether the Weldon Police Department will stay in its current location or use the second floor of the BB&T building once renovations are done. An elevator would have to be installed as a means of accessing the second and third floors. Lead and asbestos abatement also have to be done to the building.
The cost of renovations is not known at this time, but the mayor said the decision is a $1.2 million savings since the town at one point was considering building a new library behind town hall.
The town scrapped plans to build a new library as the economy continued to struggle, Meacham said. “The BB&T building is a handsome building in the heart of the downtown district and will give us room to grow into a municipal complex. It could be a multi-purpose building since we don't have a place for senior citizens. There are a lot of possibilities that may come up later. With the growth Weldon has seen we may be able to offer office spaces to rent out.”
The large parking area in the back of the building is also an advantage, the mayor said. “The main factor to me was saving tax money and to make improvements for the town and clean it up and bring it back to the beauty it once was instead of letting it sit for two or three decades.”
The move to the old town hall would give the library some 1,500 to 2,000 extra square feet of space, the mayor said. The library has some 800 patrons a month and is the most used building in the town.
Super Sturdy building
The town Monday also received the deed to the Super Sturdy building which is located next to River Falls Park. That deed was handed over to the town by the state Department of Commerce with the understanding it must be marketed for economic development. The original company that occupied the building went out of business and left $470,000 in outstanding lease payments. “If we didn't act on the foreclosure, we would have had to pay that,” Meacham said.
The building is listed for $374,000 and is 32,000 square feet.
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