The old City Hospital property, located south of the Fayetteville Public Library at Rock Street and School Avenue, is the planned home of a facility expansion that will nearly double the size of the current library.
Staff photo
The highly anticipated expansion of the Fayetteville Public Library is set to begin this month.
Library officials today announced plans to kick off the project with a demolition event at 9 a.m. on July 17 at the site of the former City Hospital next door to the library at 221 S. School Ave.
Members of the library’s board, as well as Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan, and others will be on hand to give remarks.
“We are beyond thrilled to begin the demolition phase of the library’s expansion project,” said David Johnson, the library’s executive director, in a statement. “We are grateful to the citizens of Fayetteville for believing in the library’s mission and for allowing us to expand in order to meet the needs of our growing community for generations to come.”
Demolition is expected to take around three months, followed by site grading and dirt work that should last through the end of 2018. Construction of the new 70,000-square-foot expansion is set to begin in early 2019. If all goes well, the facility will be complete sometime in 2020.
Once complete, the expanded library will include an innovation center with audio/video recording studio, virtual reality room, photography studio, and simulation lab, an expanded youth services area, a 700-seat multipurpose center, along with additional meeting spaces, an outdoor courtyard with green spaces around the property, and other amenities.
The kickoff event is free to attend, and open to the public.
For more information about the library’s expansion project, visit faylib.org.
