Waterfront Library Proposed For Swampscott Hawthorne Property

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — What has been termed "an emerging Hawthorne vision" as the future of the town's $7 million purchase of the restaurant's oceanfront property was revealed as a potential home of a glass-encased Swampscott Public Library and event space as part of a design unveiled at Wednesday night's Select Board meeting.

The library was billed as a culmination of two public meetings and several surveys as a way to bring a year-round public interactive space to the property that could also house public and potentially revenue-producing private events, as well as bring foot traffic to the Humphrey Street business district while also preserving open space and public views of the ocean.

The current Swampscott Public Library was built in 1917 and faces challenges with its current location and age.

Select Board member Peter Spellios said that while the exact nature and scope of the project will be determined through a series of additional public meetings and design refinements, the initial estimated cost of the preliminary design could be about $30 million. Spellios said state library financing could be used to reduce the cost burden on the town, while the existing library inventory and staff could also help the town absorb costs.

Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald said this was the beginning of the next phase of a project that could still be six or seven years in duration.

"This is an idea," Spellios said. "It's an idea for 15,000 residents to react to. The important thing about the process here is that whether there has been one or a hundred meetings to date, there's going to be many more to come to give people a chance to comment on ideas."

Fitzgerald said the next public input session should be scheduled within the month.

"We actually want to get feedback," Fitzgerald said. "We want to take this preliminary concept and really help it reflect the highest and best hopes for the town."

Fitzgerald said this was the only concept that has been presented to the town from the planning and design firm but that the project is "still evolving."

"We're working through this process," he said. "We're at a junction point where we can pause and get some more input. And really answer some questions."

Select Board member MaryEllen Fletcher raised concerns about the price tag and said she wants the finances of the project to remain a major consideration as the project develops.

"This is not cheap," Spellios said. "Nothing good is cheap. Open space isn't cheap. Well-done open space isn't cheap.

"This is exactly what we need," he added. "Meaning that we need hope. We need vision. We need ideas."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)