Chester residents should see some action soon outside the Chester Library, according to Mike Laing, project manager of Chesterfield’s Baxter Perkinson Center for the Arts.
On May 22, Laing told the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors that they should see some activity within the next 10 days on the site where the 352-seat arts center will be built.
Afterward, Laing said a construction trailer will be located on the site next to the Chester Library along with some security fencing that directs visitors to the library’s entrance.
“We’re in the final stages of subcontractor selecting,” he said, noting the $14.66 million project is within budget.
Supervisor Dorothy Jaeckle said she told incoming arts center director Bruce Miller that she doesn’t want a groundbreaking ceremony without a bulldozer present “because no one will actually believe it” is going to happen otherwise, a reference to the long-awaited project being stalled several times over the years.
Chesterfield Economic Development Authority Director Garrett Hart said that portions of the Chester Library parking lot will be closed from time to time to allow for construction of additional parking for the arts center.
Parking at the site will expand into green space north and south of the library’s current lot, Laing said.
