Construction work putting move on Peabody mayor

PEABODY – Those looking for Mayor Michael Bonfanti won’t find him in his second floor office in City Hall over the next few weeks. He and his staff have been bumped down to the basement while construction crews work on replacing 38 of the historic building’s windows.”It was noisy,” said Mary Bellevance of the Mayor’s Office explaining the move. “And cold.”Crews first began with the conference room, then moved on to Bonfanti’s office. Next up are the finance offices, then personnel, and lastly, the few windows remaining in the hallways.Bellevance estimates that she, Bonfanti and Dianne Marchese will be relocated to the Planning Board Conference Room for at least another three weeks.”The test window took them three or four days,” she said. “I’m sure as they go along, it’ll get faster, but I’m guessing maybe three weeks.”The entire project is scheduled to be completed in about two months, she said.The current restoration is the second of a three-phase project led by the Community Development Department. Phase I, completed in 2002, replaced approximately 30 windows on the third floor. If all goes well with Phase II on the second floor, a third and final phase would later replace basement windows and those on the first floor.Last year, city councilors approved funding for the $456,900 project through the use of $100,000 from the city’s sale of real estate funds and $256,900 from Community Preservation. The remaining $100,000 came in the form of a grant from the Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund, which required historic preservation. The new windows, although expensive at approximately $12,000 apiece, meet the state’s standards.The original building was built in 1883 during what is considered the Second Empire, a time where French Victorian design ruled most public buildings. In 1975, the original windows were replaced with those made of anodized aluminum.Director of Community Development Jean Delios explained to the Council at the time of their vote that such restoration was needed not only for historical purposes, but for safety and energy reasons as well.Prior to the project, employees used space heaters to make up for the loss of heat through gaps and cracks and one custodian reported having a window fall onto his head, as well as onto the parking lot, thankfully on a weekend when no one was around.”It’ll make a huge difference,” said Bellevance. “They’ll even have screens now, so we can open them without fearing for life and limb.”During construction, signs have been placed throughout the building to direct visitors to offices that may have been relocated.