Banwell Architects was pleased to be invited to Barre City Place’s May 27, 2014 ribbon cutting ceremony. DEW’s Don Wells and Mike Francis recounted the challenges of assembling financing to make the project possible and recognized the skilled subcontractors who built it.
Barre’s Mayor Tom Lauzon was credited with the vision to bring Vermont state offices to downtown Barre after the Waterbury State Office Complex was flooded by Hurrican Irene. Governor Peter Shumlin congratulated the city and development team for a project that not only consolidates state offices but will be an ongoing contribution to the vitality of Barre’s downtown.
Banwell Architects was recognized at the ceremony and is very proud to have been a part of DEW’s design team. The 80,000 sf, four-story building has flexible office space on the upper two floors that house the Vermont Department of Education, for the first time in decades, in a single location. The Vermont Department of Children and Families and the Vermont Office of Child Support are also in Barre City Place. Central Vermont Medical Center also has a business office on the second floor.
On the ground floor, the ReHab Gym has a new location, its third in Vermont; which includes an indoor saltwater therapy pool, as well as therapy and exercise rooms. Plans are in active development for other ground floor tenants.
The Barre City Place site is graced by notable granite sculpture “Coffee Break” by area sculptor Heather Milne Ritchie. Nearby installations by Studio Place Arts add significantly to the local granite art focus.
