40 October 2026

Manchester, NH – Community leaders, donors, families and friends gathered to officially open the Mark Stebbins Community Center on Manchester’ s West Side on Sept. 8. The center is named after Mark Stebbins, who spent decades giving to community causes throughout New Hampshire.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Manchester and Amoskeag Health are anchor tenants at the community center. Services will support youth and families, including affordable, walkable after-school care, affordable health care services, community meeting space, a food pantry, and programs provided by additional nonprofit partners.

Project leaders raised the funds needed to build and operate the facility. The Catholic Health Care Foundation of Greater Manchester surprised attendees with an announcement that it will invest $ 1 million

Mark Stebbins Community Center to complete the fundraising for the project. Funding also came from a multi-million-dollar grant through Senator Jeanne Shaheen’ s efforts with the Community Project Funding through HUD.

“ We have exceeded our fundraising goal of $ 18.5M,” explained Jeanine Tousignant, project director for the Mark Stebbins Community Center.“ As a result of all of your generosity, a total of $ 20.7M has been raised to fund the Mark Stebbins Community Center. This includes an endowment which will fund the operations and maintenance of the

Mark Stebbins Community Center ribbon cutting ceremony / Photo by Ever Changing Photography

center in perpetuity.”

Several business donors made significant gifts including M & T Bank, St. Mary’ s Bank, CGI Business Solutions, Catholic Medical Center, Northeast Delta Dental, Hannaford, and Bangor Savings Bank.

“ Mark grew up in Manchester and always focused philanthropy towards children and families in Manchester, and wanted non-profits to collaborate together,” explained Sally Stebbins, wife of Mark Stebbins and one of the founders and leaders of the project.“ This center is the ultimate culmination of Mark’ s vision. And now his legacy shifts to stories of impact starting tomorrow when the doors open to children and families. Those who pass through these doors will have access to health care, children’ s after-school activities, a food pantry, community navigators, and referrals to other nonprofits, all in one place, which will impact lives for generations.”

In November 2021, 30 community and nonprofit leaders gathered with the Stebbins family to begin planning the center.

Middlebury, VT – The Ilsley Public Library reopened on Aug. 29 following a renovation and expansion by design-build team ReArch Construction and Wiemann Lamphere Architects. More than 3,000 people walked through the library during the grand opening celebration.

The Town of Middlebury, the Ilsley Public Library, the Ilsley 100 Project Team, library trustees, Friends of the Library and donors joined ReArch at the event.

Originally constructed in 1924, the Carnegie-style library has grown alongside Middlebury for more than 100 years. The renovation preserves the original building’ s history and character while expanding what the library can offer. ReArch and Wiemann Lamphere were selected as the design-build team in August 2023, bringing together design and construction expertise from early planning through completion.

The design connects the historic library to its contemporary addition, preserving the character of the original building while creating bright spaces that reflect how

Renovated Ilsley Public Library / Photo courtesy of ReArch Construction

libraries serve communities today.

“ We understood the importance of the historic building and its relationship to the local community. We sought to create a design that allowed the public to see and use the historic building in a new and dynamic way while providing Middlebury with an attractive, energy-efficient community asset that will be functional and flexible long into the future,” said Michael Minadeo, design director at Wiemann Lamphere Architects.

Renovating, restoring and expanding a century-old building presents challenges that do not exist with new construction. The team had to uncover existing conditions, protect historic elements, integrate modern building systems, and connect new construction to a structure built generations ago.

“ Working on a 100-year-old building comes with challenges you can’ t always anticipate until you open up the walls. It took tremendous coordination, problemsolving, and craftsmanship to bring the old and new together,” said Ben Scribner, superintendent at ReArch Construction.“ Our trade partners and project team took great pride in this building, and seeing thousands of people walk through the doors on opening day made all that hard work incredibly rewarding. It’ s a project I’ m proud to have been a part of.”

The expanded library offers dedicated spaces for children, teens and adults, a community room, a rooftop garden, improved accessibility, updated building systems, and spaces designed for learning, gathering and connection.

More than 250 subcontractors and skilled tradespeople worked on the project. www. high-profile. com