The old West Tisbury town hall — a tall, 1870 mansard-roofed building that stands proudly between the Grange Hall and the Congressional Church — is ready for her makeover.

Up until last week she was still the center of the community, but time has clearly taken its toll on the three-story, high-ceilinged building that formerly housed the West Tisbury school and Dukes County Academy. Paint chips along windowsills resemble piles of potato chips and the wooden floor has warped to the point where there is a noticeable tilt.

“I learned you don’t want a chair with good rollers, because if you stand up it will just roll away,” said planning board administrator Simone DeSorcy on Wednesday, one of the last days before the town hall was closed for extensive and long-awaited renovations.

“It’s not the best setup,” she continued. “The heat isn’t great and the wind comes through, but I’ll miss this place. It’s not perfect — but it’s a friendly building and it just works. I admit it will be nice to see the building fixed up; she needs a little TLC.”

Ms. DeSorcy was one of many town employees who prepared to leave the building last week and paused to express equal parts affection and frustration for the place. While she won’t miss the sometimes cluttered work space, leaky ceilings and drafty conditions, Ms. DeSorcy said she will miss the building’s unmistakable charm.

“I used to go to school here. This [room] was a classroom and Mrs. [Priscilla] Fisher’s desk was right there,” she said, remembering a time when the building was filled with desks and children’s voices. “She ran a pretty tight ship . . . she didn’t put up with anything.”

Ms. DeSorcy said the last few weeks have been bittersweet.

“They came and took down the [outdoor playground] slide the other week, and I remember thinking, I used to play out there. And here I work for the town and now it’s my office. I’ve spent a big part of my life here.”

After three tries, West Tisbury voters approved the $5.2 million town hall renovation project at their annual town meeting in April. Current plans call for the renovation and restoration of the building, as well as the construction of an addition, new parking areas, landscaping and other improvements. The project will be paid for by a combination of borrowing and Community Preservation Act funds.

Up the winding wooden staircase on the second floor on Wednesday, zoning board of appeals administrative assistant Julie Keefe reflected on the quirks of the place.

“You remember a certain part of the railing that gives you splinters,” she said. “And I’ve learned the tricks of the heating system. How warm it gets has more to do more with the sun because of these big windows — we get good sunlight in February.”

Town accountant Bruce Stone has worked in the building for a relatively brief period compared to some of his co-workers, but he has learned to adapt to the sometimes challenging logistics of the building — including the wide-open rooms that provide little privacy.

“Let’s just say I know more about the inner workings of the zoning board of appeals than you could ever imagine,” he said.

Mr. Stone climbed to the third floor of the building, which has long been closed off for safety reasons. The floor is full of holes and cracks and the walls have peeled away to reveal rotted wood. “There may have been a little rat problem up here at some point,” he said matter-of-factly.

But Mr. Stone also expressed warm feelings for the building — the derelict third floor included. “This building has personality. It’s not perfect, but it’s our home,” he said.

Back on the second floor in the town finance offices, longtime tax collector Brent Taylor said she will miss some of the building’s foibles and eccentricities, but she agreed the building is in desperate need of a makeover.

“We’ve needed to take care of this building for a long, long time. This work is long overdue,” she said.

Mrs. Taylor said she is happy the design of the new town hall will keep some the character of the existing one. “It will be nice when we aren’t all on top of each other, but it will have a different feel. Now we all kind of know each other’s business . . . we sort of share everything with everyone. But we need this change. It will be nice when we aren’t cobbled together,” she said.

Mrs. Taylor said she was thankful voters finally settled on a town hall renovation everyone seems pleased with.

“This was a long process, but a necessary one. The birthing pains have been enormous. But our town is growing, and our town hall needs to grow too. After we close this [building] down we will reopen bigger and better than ever,” she said.

The West Tisbury town hall will be closed for renovations until further notice; town offices are expected to reopen today in trailers and the old library. Anyone with questions may call executive secretary Jennifer Rand at 508-696-0102.