SHUTESBURY — Designs for a new library to replace the 121-year-old M.N. Spear Memorial Library continue to be prepared by a Boston architecture company, with the latest plans bringing the building size to under 5,000 square feet as a cost-cutting measure.

The Library Building Committee recently agreed with building consultants from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and the design team, including architect Oudens Ello Architecture of Boston, to reduce the size of the building, currently pegged at a cost of $8.55 million, that would be built at 66 Leverett Road. The site is located about half a mile from the current library in the town center.

The smaller building will allow the fire suppression system to be removed from the interior. Originally, plans had the building at 5,490 square feet.

“We all knew that building a library was going to be both exciting and challenging, and the greatest challenge is, of course, financial,” the Library Building Committee, chaired by Elaine Puleo, wrote in an Aug. 4 email to the community. “The Library Building Committee is committed to ensuring that this project remains affordable even in the face of rising costs in every sector.”

With $8.29 million in hand, including a Small Library Pilot Project grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners that will cover 75% of the expenses, the library is $262,378 short of having enough money.

The grant is $5.64 million, and the town’s contribution that was approved at Town Meeting and through a Proposition 2½ debt-exclusion vote is $2.44 million. Plus, there is $109,000 from the Friends of the Library, $20,000 in grants and $70,644 to be transferred from the Spear Trust.

Library Director Mary Anne Antonellis said fundraising is continuing online. Already, $460,000 has been raised, with a goal of $550,000.

Antonellis added that officials are confident the difference between cost projections and money available can be managed.

“We will use a combination of diligently watching costs as we make choices about the project and fundraising to keep the project on budget,” Antonellis wrote in an email.

Plans for construction show a single-story building with a peaked roof, and an adjacent driveway and parking lot. It would replace the M.N. Spear Memorial Library, a cramped 768-square-foot building with no running water that opened in 1902.

Inside, there is an adults section with a reading nook and a children’s section, both of which have seating and collection space specified in the building program. The structure has significant natural light, and an ability to close off the children’s room with a sliding door when privacy is needed.

There is also a smaller, dedicated teen area near the circulation desk, a staff work room and director’s office. Past this is a browsing room, a lobby and community meeting room that can seat 49, with overflow space in the lobby. This can be accessed separately from the rest of the building.

Oudens Ello Architecture has handled numerous net-zero energy projects, maximizing roof space for solar panels. The plan calls for a 63-kilowatt solar array, mounted on both sides, that will supply all of the building’s electricity.

Construction is likely to begin in March or April 2024, with a scheduled completion in 12 to 14 months, meaning a spring 2025 opening. If that happens, it would bring to a close a nearly 30-year saga that began with planning in the mid- to late-1990s. In 2012, Shutesbury voters nixed a $1.4 million override for a $3.5 million project that would have created a building of between 5,500 and 5,800 square feet.

Design documents will be refined at the building committee’s Sept. 6 meeting, with the next updated cost estimate expected in mid-November.

Antonellis said in addition to the fundraising page, a Roadtown Turkey Trot fundraiser is being planned for Nov. 18. Registration, opening later this month, is available at roadtown.org/trot.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.

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