The Thorne Building Community Center
A TIMELINE
SEPTEMBER 2021
Asbestos abatement begins at Thorne Building.
AUGUST 2021
The Village of Millbrook transfers ownership of the Thorne Building to The Thorne Memorial Building LLC, one of the two subsidiary LLC’s of the MCP.
JULY 29, 2021
The MCP holds an open meeting at the Village Firehouse to brief the public on its plans and to receive community feedback, which is favorable. See the presentations here
JULY 2021
The Millbrook Community Partnership, Inc., (MCP) is established with the purpose of creating a new park on the former Bennett College property while simultaneously renovating and restoring the Thorne Building into a community center.
MARCH 2021
The Board determines that the TBCC and Bennett Park projects should be combined under an umbrella entity.
JANUARY 2021
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The Board hires a consultant to research New York State sources for grants, and to write grant proposals.
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Discussions begin about pursuing the Bennett Park project simultaneously with the TBCC renovation.
WINTER 2020-2021
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TBCC holds extensive consultations with experts in several fields (arts, music, dance, cooking classes and catering, uses for the auditorium such as film series and theater presentations, and technology classes) to review floor plans and ensure that the spaces are designed for maximum efficiency.
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The Board reviews cost estimates from a number of contractors and continues discussions about the timing and staging of work.
OCTOBER 2020
The Village Board approved a new zoning overlay district so that the anticipated uses of the TBCC are permitted at the Thorne Building which was previously in a residential zone.
SEPTEMBER 2020
A proposal for restoration of the exterior was sent out for bid to contractors.
SUMMER 2020
TBCC Board fine-tuned programming goals, architectural design, fundraising goals, and estimated costs of restoration of the exterior and renovation of the interior of the building.
WINTER 2021-2022
The abatement work is substantially complete, with the exception of the auditorium and the removal of the boilers in the basement. The remaining work is anticipated to be completed by the end of February to early March.
In order to fully abate the asbestos and lead paint in the building, the majority of the interior wall and ceiling finishes were required to be removed.
A concerted effort was made to preserve certain monumental wood door frames, window frames, architectural woodwork and plaster moldings where possible. Many of the original wood doors and other architectural details were carefully removed and preserved to be reutilized in the planned restoration, renovation and adaptive reuse of the Thorne Building.
APRIL 2020
Local resident Michael Sloan was hired as architect of TBCC.
MARCH 2020
TBCC’s Board began work on modifying Village zoning to allow use as a community center.
JANUARY 2020
The Supreme Court of Dutchess County issued a judgement eliminating the “reverter clause.”
SUMMER 2019
TBCC hired a development consultant to start planning a fundraising campaign, and a representative to oversee the design/construction process and begin the search for an architect.
MAY 28, 2022
An Open House for the community was held inside our historic building to see the progress made so far in the renovation and revitalization of this iconic Millbrook property. Our exciting plans were shared for the future home of Millbrook’s Community Center.