as reported in the Bennington Banner by Mark Rondeau 9/18/25

BENNINGTON – A groundbreaking ceremony took place on Wednesday at the same time actual renovation work on the Bennington Museum’s parking lot and courtyard was beginning.

The Museum held a reception with champagne. Conceptual illustrations of the improvements were on display.

Museum Executive Director Martin W. Mahoney started by thanking those who came to the groundbreaking event.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “Four years ago, I was welcomed by Consie West, at the time the board president, along with our friend (longtime museum board member and supporter) Edie Sawitsky, who is no longer with us, (saying) ‘we have to do something about the parking lot.’

“The museum has long been wanting to begin a capital campaign to improve the entrance to the museum and after a lot of thinking and working, we partnered up with Terrigenous architects, who have been wonderful,” Mahoney said. “They’ve helped us along the way, not only to envision but to actually make it a reality, a practical reality, which museum could afford and we could hopefully do, [and that] we will achieve in time for opening next summer.”

Mahoney thanked all who have donated or helped make the case for the project in the community.

“Thank you to the staff who’ve done an exceptional job in selling this program to our community,” he said.

Several staff of Terrigenous, a landscape architecture firm headquartered in Chester, were on hand both for the groundbreaking and to work on the project. HNB Inc. is doing the excavating and MSK is the engineer for the work.

“We’ve raised $2.7 million,” Mahoney said after the ceremony. “We have that in hand, and we’re ready to go. Contracts are signed.”

The project will take all winter but museum officials are committed to being open the entire time.

“We’ll close, as usual on December 31, be closed for three months, and wrap it up in the spring. We’re hoping for June 1 grand-reopening,” Mahoney said. “We’ve raised $2.7 million. We have that in hand and we’re ready to go. Contracts are signed.”

The project will add 15 parking spaces, bringing up the total to about 45. A new addition will be three dedicated bus parking spaces. The museum’s outdoor pavilion was rapidly being removed after the ceremony, but a new one will be built at a place to be determined.

“We’re super excited about the groundbreaking for project one. I think that it’s going to make a huge difference for the community, because this organization should be a point of pride,” said Alexina Jones, the museum’s director of advancement. “We want the exterior to reflect the really amazing collections that are also in the interior. Aside from just being a more safe and accessible parking lot, I think that we are excited about the, actual visual uplift that’s going to happen from this project.”

Mahoney said that phase two of the work will be renovation of the schoolhouse on the site, “which we are converting into a magnificent showpiece for educators to enliven, delight and bring joy to the community.”

Phase two will involve renovating the existing structure, making many infrastructure improvements. This will include adding insulation, a bathroom, and a new HVAC system. The building will get its own separate entrance, said Deana Mallory, director of public programs. “That’ll be really great,” she said. “It’ll make it available outside of regular museum hours.”

Other design ideas include incorporating some storage space, a reading nook and some new flooring.

“So, it’s going to be a really great space. I mean, it’s a great space now, and we’ll maintain a lot of that so that it’s available for general public visitors,” Mallory said. “Kids and families love going in there and playing. So, we’ll maintain that, while also making it a much better space for school groups and other programs, one we can use year-round.”

Jones said the goal is to have funding for phase two complete by the end of this year.

“It was a $500,000 goal, and we’re about halfway there with funding,” she said. “And if we can just get the community to get another wave of support behind us, we’re going to be able to knock all of this out together. And that’s so exciting. We are so pleased with the support we’ve had so far, and we’re confident that we can get the rest of the way this year.”

https://www.benningtonbanner.com/local-news/bennington-museum-breaks-ground-on-parking-lot-courtyard-renovation-projects/article_516de49b-5756-48b8-92ac-a5614d010349.html