Chester-Andover Family Center plans expansion New storage- and sorting-room planned

By Cynthia Prairie
©2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC

The aftereffects of a lightning strike several years ago at the Chester-Andover Family Center has sparked a plan for expanding the building, located at 908 VT-103 in Chester, to accommodate more storage, sorting space for donations and added comfort for the all-volunteer staff.

Nena Nanfeldt, a board member and director of development, says that the strike – which hit the small attached shed in the back – did not start a fire, but melted siding and roofing and created a hole where they joined together. While it was brought back to a functioning workspace, the structure continues to deteriorate. Nanfeldt calls the space “the heartbeat of what we do.”

Now the Family Center, which provides food clothing and financial support to residents of Chester and Andover in difficult situations, has decided it was time to tear down the shed, expand its footprint and build anew.

The new enlarged workspace is slated to have level flooring, better lighting, more shelving and much needed insulation, with the possibility of adding heat down the line. Currently, volunteers who work in that space have to bundle up in the cold weather.

The new addition would be almost 12 feet deep and 27 feet wide. Adjacent to it would be a 12 foot by 8 foor open shelter for the air conditioning compressor.

The Family Center is self-financing the project and is not seeking financial donations. It has also just begun the search for contractors to bid on the work.