WHATELY — A week after receiving a $164,310 state grant for the Town Hall restoration, the town has received a second $60,000 grant for the same purpose.
“The grant funds will be used to restore the historic windows and wainscoting and to complete repairs to the slate roof, chimney and exterior trim,” says a statement on the town’s website.
So far, of the estimated $1.3 million necessary to restore the historic Chestnut Plain Road building, the town has raised about $980,000 — including the two most recent state grants.
Of that, $340,000 is Community Preservation Act money and $315,000 from a recent $1.2 million American Tower Corp. cell tower sale, both approved at this year’s town meeting. Another $100,000 is from private solicitation.
Town officials have applied for an estimated $326,000 in additional state funding to cover remaining costs.
The rehabilitation includes renovating the building’s plumbing, installing energy-efficient insulation and windows, updating heating and cooling units, and building a small addition for new stairs and a handicapped-accessible lift.
This most recent award was given through the Massachusetts Preservation Project Fund, a 50 percent reimbursable matching grant program “established in 1984 to support the preservation of properties, landscapes, and sites (cultural resources) listed in the State Register of Historic Places,” according to the state’s website.