Salem Old Town Hall Restoration Timeline Extended

SALEM, MA — The timeline for completion of the historic restoration of Salem Old Town Hall has been extended eight weeks with the phase 1 exterior of the project now expected to be complete by Aug. 31.

Officials said this week that the restoration has reached "substantial completion" but that "due to the delicate nature of the excavation work needed to install the accessibility ramp on the southeast facade of the building, a project timeline extension is necessary."

The long-planned renovation of Salem's Old Town Hall began in February with the initial phase of work to include weather-sealing, exterior restoration and the creation of fully accessible entrances.

Planned renovations include:

• Improve existing accessible entrance at north façade doors and sidewalk area.
• Provide accessible entrance to the basement at the southeast corner along the east elevation.
• Repairs to exterior doors for improvements to life safety and egress conditions.
• Provide selective masonry repairs to brickwork and brownstone sills.
• Remove five abandoned grilles at the exterior façade and tooth-in brickwork to match.
• Selective repairs to windows and provide exterior historically appropriate storm windows.
• Upgrades to existing snow guard rails and ice melt system.
• Selective restoration of slate roof
• Restoration of cupola
• Miscellaneous in-kind repairs to exterior and prep/repainting of previously painted wood.

The second phase of the project will focus on the interior and includes structural preservation as well as heating, cooling, fire prevention, accessibility, and acoustical improvements.

It will take several years to secure funding for the second phase, the Salem Mayor's Office said in February.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)