By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
A Middlesex County construction company was awarded a $2.1 million contract on Tuesday to renovate the second floor of the Princeton Public Library.
Metuchen-based Tri-Form Construction Inc. was one of five bidders vying for the “2Reimagine” project that seeks to transform the middle floor of the library into a modern work and study space. The Library Board of Trustees voted at a special meeting to award the contract to the company.
A Tri-Form representative could not be reached for comment Tuesday. According to the website, thebluebook.com, the company was founded in 1985. Some of its recent projects include one at the Metuchen Public Library.
Princeton library officials did not have an exact date for when the project will start, although they expect it to happen in no more than two to three months. Overall, the renovation is expected to take six to eight months to complete.
Library director Brett Bonfield, who inherited 2Reimagine from his predecessor, Leslie Burger, expressed excitement at transforming how people use the building. The renovation calls for creating a 60-seat study area, rooms for groups to work in, a newsroom for print and digital media and other features.
Officials had touted this as a roughly $3 million project that would be paid mostly with private donations. Though the construction contract was for $2.1 million, library officials said there are other costs associated with the renovation, including such things as buying furniture and paying for consultants.
The library will be open during the time when work is going on, although officials are seeking a “minimal amount” disruption even as they have not ruled out the building having to be closed for some period of time.
In the meantime, patrons continue to use the second-floor as usual, even though some 30,000 books will need to be moved off site for storage. The library has said patrons can request books that are in storage and library staff will get them. Also, there will be more computers on the first floor for the public to use.
