Whitehall library expansion plans move forward

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By  Quan Truong

The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday June 13, 2012 8:03 AM

Whitehall officials are touting it as a new “centerpiece” for the city.

The new library branch, they say, will have six times more land and a building that is twice as big.

Plans are moving ahead as the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s board of trustees voted unanimously yesterday to buy 6.43 acres at 4445 E. Broad St.

The purchase comes with a price tag of $550,000. The entire project will cost about $7.6 million.

“We’re very excited over this. Everyone has been talking about it,” Whitehall Mayor Kim Maggard said.

The Whitehall branch is one of the most-used in the Columbus library system, she said.

“It’s used so much that we’re practically bursting out of the seams.”

Traffic there is heavy partly because of its proximity to a bus line and the Defense Supply Center. Homework help, computer technology, and job and resume resources draw many residents to the branch, Maggard said.

In addition to the $7.6 million, the new branch will have a children’s area, paid for by a $750,000 donation from Carol Snowden. The Columbus librarian died of ovarian cancer in 2008 and left her money to the libraries.

The building will go from 7,466 square feet to about 20,000 square feet. Parking spaces will increase from 40 to about 100, said Steve Prater, director of property management.

Conceptual designs still need to be drawn. Prater expects the project to be completed by spring 2014.

The new location is less than 200 yards from the current branch near Yearling Road. It is a space that has been sitting empty for years, said Zach Woodruff, Whitehall economic development director.

“For at least 30 years, the only thing that’s been on that site is a giant snowman and a tree at Christmastime.”

The old building likely will be put up for sale after the move, Prater said.

The library has been looking to build a new Whitehall branch for years, said Kerry Bierman, director of community relations and development.

It was delayed after the recession hit and officials began revisiting the issue last year. Other future projects include a new $6 million Driving Park branch and a $1 million tech center in the Morse Road area. Locations have not been chosen for either of those.

qtruong@dispatch.com

@QuanATruong

 

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