LEE — The town's 115-year-old Central Fire Station is proposed to get a $2.5 million makeover to turn it into a community building that will both preserve history and expand municipal space.

During a forum Thursday evening, the Lee Fire Station Reuse Committee presented its initial plan to renovate the two-story building and open it up to the public, creating community space — both inside and on the building's lawn — meeting rooms and a commercial kitchen.

"Consider the importance of this building, the significance of it for so many people," said Bob Jones, a member and clerk of the Lee Select Board. "I'm just suggesting that maybe we should pass it on to future generations in kind of a good solid shape."

Built in 1911, the building currently serves as one three Lee Fire Department stations. But that will change as Lee is scheduled to break ground on a $36.7 million public safety complex that will house the police, highway and fire departments.

The town is looking for state and federal grants to lower the burden on taxpayers. If approved by the Select Board, residents will be asked to sign off on the project at the annual town meeting May 14.

The project will go out to bid over the summer, with the construction design and planning phase lasting until 2027. Construction is estimated to start in September 2027 if everything else goes to plan.

The town could have sold or demolished the building, said Chris Brittain, the Lee town administrator, but chose to renovate and reuse the building to have control over a central parcel of land along Main Street.

Construction will yield a large event space, new community rooms and open up green space, and the renovation will make the entire building ADA compliant. The proposed renovations also include demolishing the front half of the old emergency medical services garage.

The first floor of the main building will be mostly dedicated to a large community space, with room for displays along the side to hold firefighter memorabilia, an homage to the building's history. The second floor would feature a commercial kitchen, smaller community meeting rooms and office space for community boards and groups.

The renovations are aiming to keep as much of the historical architecture and stonework the building currently features, said Kerry Bartini, one of the architects for the project. That includes continuing the stone facade up the elevator and opening up the building's iconic tower, putting a staircase inside it.

The proposed floor plans for the Lee Central Fire Station reuse project features a large community space on the first floor (left, in purple), creates two new community rooms (right, in light green) and even has a commercial kitchen (right, in gray).

Right now, the Lee Veterans of Foreign Wars is using the front half, with the food pantry taking up the back. That won't change with the renovation, but each group will get a more tailored space.

"The floor plan stays the same, and the food pantry kind of comes in with customized shelving, the refrigerators, everything that they have," Bartini said. "Also, it can double as a gathering space for the VFW."

The space also has a new accessibility lift to help people get past the stairs that connect the different levels of the building, she said.

The renovations and demolition will open up green space along the lot on Main Street, something the town could leverage into an outdoor event space, said Matt Putin, senior engineer for SK Design, the firm that presented the outdoor space plans.

There will be 20 parking spaces — with two of those being accessible handicap spaces — landscaped green space and ADA-accessible walkways.

The update would include expanding the town's facility manager position, to keep the building and grounds in order, and creating a stipend position for community center coordinator to manage the building and space reservations.

The planning process paid special attention the history, usability and accessibility of the project, hopefully allowing every Lee resident to enjoy the space, said Kerry Bartini, one of the architects for the project.

To fund this project, the town laid out two funding possibilities: either borrowing $1.5 million through a 15-year bond and using $500,000 in both free cash and grant funding to cover the rest; or, if the town doesn't secure grants, borrowing $2 million and still using the free cash.

That borrowing would add $43 or $55 in taxes per year, respectively, for the owner of an average single-family home.

The additional landscaping and upkeep costs would amount to an estimated $800,000 over the first 15 years. That would add $21 per year in taxes, meaning the tax burden would be at most $76 a year on average.