AUGUSTA — A Winthrop construction company owned by a local man who managed construction of the new $312 million MaineGeneral regional hospital in Augusta is the choice of an advisory committee to handle the $11 million expansion and renovation of the capital city’s historic Lithgow Library.

If city councilors approve the unanimous recommendation of the advisory committee and City Manager William Bridgeo, J.F. Scott Construction will be responsible for renovating and expanding the library. The firm is owned by Winthrop native and resident John Scott.

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Augusta’s historic Lithgow Public Library is set to undergo an $11 million expansion and renovation this spring. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“This is the key decision piece in my mind, identifying and hiring the company that is going to be responsible for building the library,” Bridgeo said. “John is a lifelong Winthrop resident, is midcareer and this project is going to be a highly visible, very important piece of work for him. So we – the committee and I – think that will provide strong motivation for him. Not that he wouldn’t do a good job in any circumstance, but that he’ll pay extra special attention to it and bring it in in quality fashion and within our budget constraints.”

Scott, before forming J.F. Scott Construction in 2013, was a senior vice president for H.P. Cummings, for which he was project manager of construction of the new regional MaineGeneral Medical Center in north Augusta.

“This young man is full of enthusiasm and passion about doing this project,” Augusta Mayor David Rollins said of Scott. “We’re going to be very happy with him. I know the folks that built the hospital can’t say enough good words about him.”

Scott said Monday the nature of the project, which will nearly triple the size of the library and renovate the older part of the 1896 building, made it especially exciting to him.

“It’s a landmark, and any time you get a chance to work on a landmark, it is kind of special,” Scott said. “I get a lot of pride – our company gets a lot of pride – working on buildings that impact the public. And similar to health care and colleges, public libraries impact a lot of people. That’s always appealing to us, jobs that have an impact on society.”

The firm’s other projects include the recently completed $13 million renovation of Thayer Center for Health in Waterville, a new $3.8 million, 70-bed residence hall at Unity College, and the $800,000 expansion of Unity College’s dining hall.

Bridgeo said Scott’s involvement in the construction of the new MaineGeneral hospital in Augusta and hospital officials’ praise of his work and selection of J.F. Scott for the renovations at Thayer Center for Health were factors in the recommendation. The advisory committee included city councilors, library leaders, paid consultants and city staff.

The firm, depending on the time of year, has between 15 and 26 employees, Scott said.

J.F. Scott will manage the construction project, but most of the actual construction work, Bridgeo said, will be subcontracted out.

Scott said the project will likely employ between 60 and 75 people when subcontractors and their employees are included.

“I’d say the vast majority of those will be from the area,” Scott said.

A total of 10 firms submitted proposals in response to the city’s request for contractor bids, four of which, each from Maine, were interviewed as finalists.

City councilors are scheduled Thursday to consider authorizing Bridgeo to enter into a contract with J.F. Scott for the Lithgow project.

Bridgeo said officials are hopeful construction can start in May, and Lithgow will be ready to be reoccupied in the summer of 2016.

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