Renovation

The Hagerstown Walmart at 17850 Garland Groh Blvd. held a grand reopening Friday. The event was held to give local shoppers a glimpse of the results of a three-month remodeling project, the company said in a prepared release. Changes include a new layout, wider aisles, low-profile shelving, a bright interior paint scheme, enhanced lighting and easy-to-read signage, according to the release. "We listened to our customers and have redesigned the store to make shopping at Walmart even easier," store manager Steven James said in the release.

Berkeley County Schools was awarded $1 million in state funding Monday to support the renovation and expansion of Martinsburg North Middle School, Superintendent Manny P. Arvon confirmed Tuesday. The county school district was one of six that were awarded Major Improvement Program  project grants by the West Virginia School Building Authority at the board’s quarterly meeting. The state funding will be used to renovate core areas of the school, including the gymnasium and hopefully the cafeteria, Arvon said.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - The Lilian S. Besore Memorial Library in Greencastle has kicked off a capital campaign for a proposed $1.2 million renovation and expansion project. The proposed project will help make the facility "future ready," library association president Kay Witmer said. "It's really a necessity," Witmer said. "We've worked hard to come up with a plan that will give us what we need for the future. " Plans for improvements to the existing structure include updating the heating and air conditioning systems, upgrading existing windows and lighting and improving the electrical system in an effort to increase energy efficiency and decrease utility costs, Witmer said.

The renovation of the AC&T Travel and Convenience Store on Sharpsburg Pike (Md. 65) and Lappans Road (Md. 68) is nearly finished, according to store manager Amanda Huntzberry. Huntzberry says that the project should be finished in about two weeks. "We've remodeled the inside of the store and upgraded our fuel systems outside," she said. Huntzberry work to upgrade the store began in September 2010. Parts of the parking lots and the store have been blocked off at different times since then.

As Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church's congregation held a rededication ceremony Sunday for its downtown Boonsboro church, which was damaged in a fire 16 months ago, the Rev. Reinold Schlak reminded the parishioners what's truly important. “It's not the building. It's what the building does. It's what the people in the building do,” said Schlak, assistant to the bishop of the Delaware-Maryland Synod and a guest speaker who gave the sermon during the rededication service. After the Chartes Cathedral in France had its sixth fire, around 1200, the community excitedly rebuilt the church, Schlak said.

Despite being nearly $200,000 short of its fundraising goal, The Salvation Army has started construction of a $1.8 million project in Hagerstown that includes new offices, a gymnasium and renovation of the organization's existing women's and children's shelter. Salvation Army Maj. Robert Lyle said Monday he was hopeful that donors would step up to contribute the rest of the money. “We do have a lot of folks in this community who are sympathetic to what we're doing,” Lyle said.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com The screech of power saws and the pounding of hammers filled the second floor of the old Capitol Theatre building in Chambersburg on Friday as professional trades people and technical school students framed walls and ceilings with 2-by-4s to get the space ready for sheet rock. It's a small part of an overall $5 million effort - including new construction and renovation - to make over the second block of South Main Street in a project centered on the renewal of the 76-year-old Capitol Theatre.

By JULIE E. GREENE Staff Writer Public Square - historically, the heart of Hagerstown - is about to undergo its second major reconstructive surgery within 22 years. City leaders are hoping the $470,000, three-month reconstruction that starts Monday night will rejuvenate downtown's major arteries, encouraging business owners to give their own stores facelifts and in the process, a second wind. "If it does anything it could be a catalyst for businesses to improve facades," said Councilman William M. Breichner.

wandaw@herald-mail.com Administrators, faculty and community leaders gathered Tuesday at Hagerstown Community College to dedicate the newly renovated Administration and Student Affairs Building. The facility combines several offices under the same roof for the first time in more than 20 years, said HCC President Guy Altieri. "It adds to the efficiency of working with students and it gives them one-stop shopping. Students won't get lost making their way across campus to find the financial aid office," he said.

Courthouse renovation talks continue MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Discussions about renovations of the Berkeley County Courthouse continued Wednesday as the County Commission and architect Michael Proffitt reviewed options. The projects to tackle first include the building's outdated electrical wiring and lack of emergency exits. "When the building was constructed, we didn't have computers, we didn't have fax machines, we didn't have copy machines, and we need to upgrade to accommodate that," said County Administrator Deborah Sheetenhelm.

Berkeley County Schools will be able to use $5.9 million in state funding it had received for the construction of two new schools to instead renovate Martinsburg North Middle School. The grant award of the reallocated funding was decided Monday by the West Virginia School Building Authority at the agency's quarterly meeting in Charleston, W.Va. Berkeley County Schools Superintendent Manny P. Arvon said he was pleased that the state allowed the reallocation of funds previously awarded for Spring Mills High School and Gerrardstown Area Middle School to the Martinsburg project.

Berkeley County Schools Superintendent Manny P. Arvon hopes renovations planned for Martinsburg North Middle School can begin at the end of the school year. Bids totaling $8.1 million for the project were awarded Tuesday night by the Berkeley County Board of Education, contingent upon anticipated funding decisions to be made Monday by the state School Building Authority. The SBA is scheduled to meet Monday to consider a recommendation by its finance committee to “recapture” a total of $6.9 million in state funds that were awarded for Spring Mills High School and Gerrardstown Area Middle School construction projects.

Some students at Western Heights Middle School have to walk through an empty room or a classroom with students to get to their own classroom. The school's Spanish and French teacher's desk is in a narrow storage room that exits onto the hallway. Her classroom is next door. Band class is held on the school's auditorium stage, said Principal Mike Kuhaneck, explaining the layout during a Wednesday tour of the 1300 Marshall St. school's ground floor. Those conditions will improve with renovations to the West End school's ground floor, expected to be substantially complete in time for classrooms to be ready for the first day of the next school year on Aug. 21, school system officials said.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's capital budget bill that cleared the Senate on Wednesday sets aside $100,000 for renovations and repairs to Lock 44, Lockhouse 44 and the Western Maryland Railroad Lift Bridge in Williamsport as part of improvements to Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park. A bond bill request by state Sen. George C. Edwards, R-Garrett/Allegany/Washington, asked for $175,000 for the renovations, but the request was only partially funded. The National Park Service is expected to match the amount.

The state's Capital Budget bill cleared a crucial step in the House of Delegates on Wednesday when it passed a second reading, and tucked away in it was a provision setting aside $85,000 for the Antietam Fire Company in Hagerstown. The Capital Budget bill, however, did not include any money for the demolition of the former Municipal Electric Light Plant in Hagerstown. Del. John P. Donoghue, D-Washington, who had asked for the fire company money through a bond bill to fund renovations and repairs to the Antietam Fire Company's firehouse, said the money would help Hagerstown residents.

Renovations to upgrade Antrim Township's municipal building could begin as soon as mid-June with completion by early fall. At Tuesday's meeting, township supervisors Fred Young, James Byers, John Alleman and Rick Baer voted to move forward with bidding renovation work on the 34-year-old building. David Molino of Centura Associates of Chambersburg, Pa., presented a detailed, final look at the drawings for the upgrades to the township building at the worksession prior to Tuesday's meeting.

Renovations will be done at Williamsport High School this summer to create a security vestibule at the front entrance that visitors would be directed to go through instead of directly entering the school, Washington County Public Schools officials said. The Board of Education unanimously approved a contract for the work as part of its March 19 consent agenda. The contract was awarded to GRC General Contractors, of Zullinger, Pa., said Purchasing Supervisor Lisa Freeman, according to an online video of the March 19 board meeting.

Washington County Public Schools Superintendent Clayton Wilcox said rough estimates indicate that renovating the former Allegheny Energy headquarters would be much less expensive for taxpayers than demolishing downtown Hagerstown buildings and constructing new administrative offices and a parking deck. Wilcox said estimates for renovating the former utility building on Downsville Pike are around $6 million. Combined with the $5.5 million price in the purchase agreement the Board of Education approved on Feb. 19, that puts the estimated cost of buying and renovating the building at around $11.5 million.

Another step toward downtown revitalization was evident Wednesday at the grand opening of the Wareham Professional Center, another completed project of a Hagerstown redevelopment initiative. “I think this is a great example of someone who came in and looked at one of our vacant old buildings in downtown and had the vision and the wherewithal, the imagination to see what was possible,” Mayor David S. Gysberts said following the ribbon-cutting ceremony where about 30 people, including city officials, Washington County commissioners and representatives for Sen. Barbara Mikulski and U.S. Rep. John Delaney were in attendance.