The Edgartown library is losing access to an adjoining parking lot next week, when major renovations begin at a historic house next door.
Starting Monday, patrons and staff will have to park their cars on North Water street or in other public parking spaces until construction is complete on the new library next to the Edgartown school.
The ten-car lot became available to the library in 2004 with the town’s purchase of the Warren House, a late 18th century home.
The town paid $3.5 million for the property as part of a plan to expand the library, but when the historic district rejected plans to demolish it, voters authorized a bid to sell it.
Expansion plans for the library have instead focused on a property adjacent to the Edgartown school, where a project to build a nearly 15,000 square foot facility is slated for completion this fall.
For most of its history, the library has not had its own parking.
The brick library opened in 1904 on land provided by Caroline Warren, who lived next door, and for 100 years it had no parking lot.
When Jeff Wolk bought the property from the town in fall of 2013, he allowed the library to continue using the parking lot until renovation work was ready to begin.
The Edgartown Historic District commission has approved a major restoration of the historic house, which includes removing a later addition to the rear of the house and moving the house slightly on the lot.
“We really appreciate the fact that the owners have allowed us to use it while they obtained all their permits,” said Debbie Strauss, library circulation supervisor. “We can’t grumble about it because they were flexible letting us have use of that space.”
Parking woes will end later this year, when the new library opens with a 50-car lot.
In the meantime, the Library is advising patrons that parking is available in the Dock street lot outside the Edgartown Yacht Club. The library is also accessible to the Vineyard Transit Authority’s Church Street bus terminal.
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