Belmont's First Full Fall With a New Library and a New Rink on the Same Stretch of Concord Avenue

"It's so nice to be able to 'roll down the hill,'" Belmont Hill varsity hockey coach Brian Phinney told the Belmont Voice this spring. He meant that after the old rink closed, his middle school teams practiced mostly at the Ed Burns Arena in Arlington. Now the ice is back in town.

A year ago, Belmont had neither its new rink nor its new library. The Skip Viglirolo rink opened in November 2025 and the Belmont Public Library in January 2026. That makes this the first October with both buildings open. Add the Belmont High School track a short way down the road, and a few blocks of Concord Avenue now hold more of the town's fall calendar than Belmont Center, Cushing Square or Waverley Square.

Three addresses within a few street numbers of each other

The stretch is compact enough to list:

• 291 Concord Ave. Belmont High School, whose track hosts the FBE Halloween Apple Run on Oct. 25.
• 336 Concord Ave. The new Belmont Public Library.
• 345 Concord Ave. The Skip Viglirolo rink at the Belmont Sports Complex.

The rink sits on the high school's 56.86-acre campus parcel, with the high school and Harris Field immediately to its east and playing fields to its west, according to the town's project narrative. So a family with a 2K runner, a library card and a pair of skates can cover the whole weekend without leaving Concord Avenue.

None of this was a sure thing in July.

The rink nearly lost its summer, and got it back

The rink's first peak season went well by any measure. More than 1,300 hours of ice time were used and $270,000 was generated, the Belmont Voice reported in May. That came after two years of construction. Barb Taylor of the Belmont Women's Hockey program said players range in age from 18 to 69. She called it "a really multi-generational team sport" and said, "we're getting people from all over the place."

Then the summer humidity arrived. The flywheel on a rooftop dehumidifier failed, and water droplets fell from the ceiling and froze on the ice. The town posted a closure notice on July 13 and said on July 15 that the rink was still closed. The fix was a temporary dehumidifier to carry the building while the main unit was repaired. On July 22 the town announced the rink would reopen the next day, July 23. The town hasn't publicly reported whether the main unit has since been repaired.

The October public skate schedule is posted and open to residents and non-residents:

Admission is $10 for adults and $7 for youth under 18 and seniors. Skate rental costs $5, but the town says supplies and sizes are limited and recommends bringing your own skates. Five Friday-night sessions in one month make Friday the rink's steadiest public night. The posted calendar doesn't list public skates past Oct. 30 yet.

The library's numbers jumped right away

The $39.5 million, 41,000-square-foot library, designed by Oudens Ello Architecture, opened Jan. 17. Board of Library Trustees chair Kathy Keohane estimated the children's section at more than double the size of the old one. About 5,200 people came through on opening weekend.

The library's monthly reports show a bigger shift. In March 2026, circulation hit 63,298, a single-month record for the library, compared with 37,184 in March 2025. That is about 70 percent more borrowing in the same month a year apart. The same April report counted more than 24,156 visitors in March, more than 15,946 of them to the Children's Department, and 366 new library cards. February was busier still at the door, with more than 33,000 visits and 342 new cards. These are early figures from late winter and spring, the newest the library has published, but they set the baseline the fall season starts from.

Meeting and study rooms are getting heavy use too. The April report logged 59 meeting-room bookings with 902 attendees, and 760 study-room bookings with 1,371 attendees. In practice, the building runs as a community hall as well as a place to borrow books, and its October calendar reflects that.

Saturday, Oct. 3, almost entirely on one street

The best case for the Concord Avenue stretch is a single Saturday. Here is how Oct. 3 lines up:

1. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The town-wide yard sale, moved to this date in the town's Sept. 22 notice.
2. 11 a.m. to noon. Family Cooking With Kids' Test Kitchen at the library.
3. 2 to 3:30 p.m. Jeff Belanger presents "Wicked Strange New England" at the library.
4. 3:20 to 5:20 p.m. Public skate at the rink.

Belanger's talk ends 10 minutes after the skate session starts, at a building a few street numbers away.

The rest of the month keeps returning to the library at 336 Concord Ave. The Middlesex Sheriff's Office gives a scam safety presentation Thursday, Oct. 1, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tricks and Tips for Your iPhone (iPad) runs Monday, Oct. 5, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. The Soap Artist leads an Introduction to Cold Process Soap Making on Thursday, Oct. 8, from noon to 2 p.m. That afternoon, Officer Brian Conneely hosts Back to School Safety for Families, with bingo, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. "Rethink Your Cart: Why Refill Shops Win" is Tuesday, Oct. 13, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., and a Mending Clinic follows on Wednesday, Oct. 14, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Cardboard Costume-Making fills Saturday, Oct. 24, from 2 to 4 p.m., the day before the Apple Run.

The new building also has outdoor space the old one lacked. The Belmont Voice described an event terrace, a stone amphitheater, a walking path and woodland gardens. October's one program listed outdoors is Sunshine and Storytime on the Library Patio, Monday, Oct. 19, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

That same Monday evening, MEET BELMONT 2026 runs from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., with interactive booths from town departments. The Beech Street Center was the library's temporary home during construction. Oct. 19 links the library's old address with its new one.

The month ends back at the high school. The FBE Halloween Apple Run is Sunday, Oct. 25, on the Belmont High School track at 291 Concord Ave., with a 5K at 9:30 a.m. and a 2K at 10:45 a.m. The event page says to register by Sept. 30, which is today.

What still happens off the avenue

Some of Belmont's fall routine stays put. The Belmont Farmers' Market keeps its Thursdays at 10 Claflin St. through Oct. 29, with October hours of 2 to 6 p.m. This season's new vendors include Drumlin Farm, Lucky Bao Bakery, Solstice Small Batch Pasta and Provisions, Terrarium Coffee and Wilson Confections. Oct. 29 is also the day before the rink's last posted Friday skate.

Moozy's Ice Cream Emporium at 2 Trapelo Road is still recovering from the May 14 fire that destroyed its shop. The owner plans to rebuild. In the meantime he has proposed a temporary shop in a converted storage container just outside the old location. As of the Belmont Voice's Aug. 20 report, it was waiting on a plumbing plan approval and a state DEP sign-off tied to asbestos removal at the adjoining site. Moozy's website still lists the temporary location as "opening soon."

Zahra keeps close track of how changes like a new library or a reopened rink reshape the blocks around them, because buyers ask about them and sellers can build them into how they present a home. If you live near Concord Avenue and want to know how this year's changes figure into your home's value, Home Search with ZZ can put together a free home valuation, or you can schedule a consultation with Zahra.