TIVERTON — Tiverton's historic Essex Library will pass into private ownership on Tuesday, May 16. That is the date when the much-debated sale of the property will close. 
The sale price, stated in a purchase and sales agreement approved by the town council in executive session on March 27, is $395,000. According to town tax assessor records, it is assessed for tax purposes at $448,800.
The new owner is Richard A. Epstein, 59, of Dummerston, Vermont, about 10 miles north of Brattleboro. Mr. Epstein is a real estate developer who said he renovates properties.
Town voters at the Financial Town Referendum of 2016 "authorized and directed" the town council to sell the property "at fair market value," and the council put the building up for a brokered sale earlier this year.
"I'm well aware that the Essex Library is an icon, and beloved by the community, and I understand I'm taking it as a steward for the building and all it stands for," Mr. Epstein said. "Lydia Essex was a school teacher and she must have loved the community to give such a gift to it."
He said he learned about the property from friends in Little Compton. He doesn't plan to live in the place, "not initially anyway," he said.
Mr. Epstein plans to work on the building over the next two years, with the priority being the septic system. "it's the key to the property. There are only two half bathrooms, and no kitchen. The footprint is absolutely lovely. I'd leave the main room as a single room; it's as I imagine a library to be."
The purchase and sale agreement states that the existing metal book cases and shelves and light fixtures are to remain.
"What I like most is the spirit of the place," he said. "It's not the bricks and mortar so much as it is the legacy that appeals. It's a beautiful thing. It's clear to me from the effort people put into the new library."
The property is still in transition. The inspection period has been extended to April 28 by the town council, at its meeting this last week and at the request of the new owner.
The conveyance will be by a warranty deed.
The cornerstone for the old library was put in place in 1938, and it was built in1939. It has a gabled slate roof, and is heated with oil/forced air.
The main floor of the building itself has 2,224 square feet, but with the basement and patio is 4,530 square feet.It sits on a lot that is 2.09 acres, and is zoned R40