Middlebury is breaking ground on its new town office building Tuesday. It's been a long and complicated road to get to this point, and the select board is starting the project by inviting the community to a "brief groundbreaking ceremony."
The ceremony will take place at 4:30 p.m. at 77 Main Street, the new home of the town offices and former location of Middlebury College's Osborne House, which was moved to a lot previously owned by the town as part of a complicated land swap approved by voters last year.
In the swap, the town exchanged the 1.29 acre lot where the town offices are currently located as well as .15 acres on Cross Street for the 1.18 acre lot at 77 Main Street. The college moved Osborne House from 77 Main Street to the Cross Street property, which was the former site of the Champlain Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, making way for the new town offices.
Once the new town offices are built and occupied, the town will demolish the old town office building. Simultaneously, the town will be building a new recreation facility off Creek Road.
Once the town has demolished the old town offices and the college has taken over ownership of the 94 Main Street property, Middlebury College will construct a public park at that site.
