NORWICH — The Norwich Grange Hall Board has reached its $2.4 million fundraising goal to renovate the beloved community building on Main Street.
“We’re targeting an official opening in the spring of next year,” Jess Phelps, president of the Norwich Grange Hall Board, said in a phone interview Monday.
About $1.5 million of the renovation fund came from grants, and about $900,000 from community members, he said.
“It’s been really rewarding to see grant funders respond to the project, and the community support has been amazing,” Phelps said.
In 2023, the Norwich Community Collaborative purchased the building, located at 344 Main St., from Upper Valley Community Grange 581 for $1. Built in 1892, the building had fallen into disrepair, so community members formed a new nonprofit organization to save it.
Work began in 2024 with a rebuild of the second-story porch, according to a timeline on the organization’s website. Renovations started in earnest in 2025; since then, workers have added two ADA-accessible bathrooms and an elevator, among other improvements, Phelps said. The work includes rebuilding a commercial kitchen, which will allow the group to restart the Grange’s famed pancake breakfasts.
“To bring it back to the Grange hall will be something I’m excited to see,” Phelps said.
“Different age groups have a chance to get that and have a meal together.”
The building has a capacity of about 150 people. It boasts a stage on the second floor, “which we hope will be a center for performances and community arts-type gatherings,” Phelps said.
The organization will hold programs of its own and will also make the space available for other organizations to use.
“It’s truly intended to be a community center that is available for a wide range of events,” Phelps said. “There’s a fair amount of demand. I think once we’re open, that’s only going to expand.”
Visit norwichgrangehall.org for more information.
