Wilmington Residents Invited To Tour New Town Hall At Open House On January 10, Building Officially Opens On January 16

WILMINGTON, MA — The Town of Wilmington invites residents to an Open House to tour the new Town Hall/School Administration Building on Saturday, January 10, 2026, from 10am to 2pm.

The new 43,000 sq. ft. building is located at 146 Middlesex Avenue, located in front of the old Buzzell School/Senior Center and in the back of the Municipal Parking Lot, in the Town Common area.

Voters overwhelmingly supported the construction of the building at a Special Town Meeting in November 2022, with 76.6% in support (426 in favor, 130 opposed). A small percentage of eligible voters, however, only 3.08% (556 out of 18,004), took the time to cast a vote. The November 2022 vote was preceded by a June 2020 Town Meeting vote for $955,000 to fund a feasibility study and schematic design for the project.

The entire project was funded at $36,880,766, with $12 million being paid from “free cash” reserves and the remaining $24,800,766 being borrowed. The debt from the bond is being paid out of the town’s operating budget and did not require a debt exclusion like the recent elementary school building project.

“Because we’re using reserve money and we’re borrowing and paying for that from the budget, this project, if approved, will not impact your taxes,” emphasized then Town Manager Jeff Hull before the vote.

The Building Committee conducted a walk-through of the building in lieu of a meeting in September, did not schedule a meeting in October, canceled its meeting in November, and a video recording of its most recent meeting on December 3 – which was immediately preceded by another walk-through – has not been posted yet to the town’s website or to WCTV’s YouTube channel, if such a video exists.

Despite a lack of recent public updates, as of the Building Committee’s August meeting, the project remained on budget and on time, with “substantial completion” eyed for the late fall of 2025.

The new Town Hall/School Administration Building is slated to officially open for business on Thursday, January 14, 2026. The current Town Hall will close its doors on Tuesday, January 12, 2026, with Wednesday, January 13, 2026 serving as a “Moving Day.”

The current Town Hall (approx. 20,000 sq. ft.), located at 121 Glen Road, was built in 1958 as a 12-room schoolhouse. The building became the “temporary” Town Hall in 1984, where it has remained for the past 40+ years.

The current School Administration Building (approx. 4,500 sq. ft.), located at 161 Church Street, was constructed in 1897 as a private residence (now commonly referred to as “the Roman House”). The building has housed the Superintendent’s Offices since the 1950’s.

The new Town Hall/School Administration Building project was led by the following firms: P3 as its Owners Project Manager; Consigili Construction as its Construction Manager; and Johnson Roberts Associates as its architects.

The Building Committee has held more than 50 public meetings since August 2021. The Committee currently includes School Committee Chair Jesse Fennelly, School Committee member Stephen Turner, Interim School Superintendent David Thomson, outgoing Assistant School Superintendent Paul Ruggiero, Select Board member Kevin Caira, Public Buildings Superintendent Dennis Kelley, and Permanent Building Committee members Diane Allan, Jack Halloway, and Paul Melaragni. Permanent Building Committee Chair (and retired Public Buildings Superintendent) George Hooper serves as the Building Committee’s Chair.