TENANTS HARBOR — A hardy crowd gathered with their shovels on Saturday, Nov. 17, to celebrate the groundbreaking for the new Jackson Memorial Library in Tenants Harbor.

“It’s a great day,” said Susan Bates, library president, in a news release. “With the generosity of more than 350 donors and the gift of this building, St George is going to have a wonderful library and community center by next June.”

Joe Holub, Building Committee chairman, said: “A big piece of the renovation of the former Grace Youth Center will be inside the existing building, putting in an elevator and addressing all the fire code issues. We’re also expanding the front of the building to make a welcoming entrance and circulation desk area.”

The plans for the renovation by architect Christian Fasoldt of Camden are on the library’s website: www.JacksonMemorialLibrary.org.

“I am truly grateful for the opportunity to be involved with JML, an entity so vital to the peninsula; and doubly thankful to be working on the very sympathetic reuse of a building that I previously designed for another community focused group, The Lilius Gilchrest Grace Institute.“ said Fasoldt.

The building will have a variety of flexible spaces for multiple uses. Children, teens and adults will all have places to go for play, conversation and quiet study. There will be a community room and by moving the stacks in the Children’s Room there will be space to show movies and have large programs. In the lower level, there is room to keep the pool table from the youth center. There will also be a year-round bookstore.

The general contractor selected for the project, Maine Coast Construction Corp., of Camden, will be maintaining a blog at www.mainecoastconstruction.com/blog so everyone can watch the progress.  MCC senior Vice President Mark DeMichele said, “the entire Maine Coast Construction team is excited to be part of this community effort and look forward to seeing the new Jackson Memorial Library become a reality for the residents of St George.”