Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
COMMUNITY CENTER PROJECT PLANNED
Construction of $15 million facility could begin next year
KENNETT SQUARE >> Construction of a $15 million community center housing the Kennett Library, Kennett Square police and Kennett Square borough offices could begin sometime by the end of next year if a capital campaign drive is successful.
“The enthusiasm from the community has been far more than we expected,” said Jeff Yetter, a member of the library’s board of directors. “We are pretty confident we can make this happen.”
Plans for the proposed project were unveiled Tuesday during the third and final library visioning meeting, attended by about 40 people, including representatives of Kennett Township and Kennett Square.
The 45,000 square foot building is planned to be built on a lot just east of the current library building, and very close to the Kennett Area YMCA. It will feature an abundance of natural light, an underground parking garage with 44 metered, public parking spaces and three parking spaces for police.
“There is a need and a desire to have a 21st-century library and community center in this town,” said Greg Lukmire, lead architect of Luk-
“There is a need and a desire to have a 21st-century library and community center in this town.” — Greg Lukmire, lead architect of Lukmire Partnership
mire Partnership, an architecture firm specializing in library construction. “This library will be an economic engine for the downtown, and will facilitate development. It will bring more people to the library. We see this as a downtown focus, a real sense of place.”
The plan calls for the police station and borough offices to be located on the first floor, and the library to occupy the top two floors. The library will occupy about 30,000 square feet, almost three times more than the space available at the current library.
Yetter said the police department will have a secure elevator, and library patrons will never see any police activity. The police station will have a Sally Port, or a secure, controlled entranceway, and the new facility will allow for police video arraignment around-the-clock.
The building will be 45 feet tall, well short of the tallest building in town, the Franklin Center, which towers over the town at 70 feet tall.
The first floor will be comprised of a lobby and waiting area, an auditorium and board room, a 3,200 square foot planning and zoning room, restrooms and a room for police administration and police operations.
The second floor will feature a 4,411 square foot children’s area, staff offices, a multi-purpose room and restrooms. The third floor will have a small lobby, three 650 square foot classrooms, a 444 square foot Bayard Taylor Room, an adult area, a computer lab, quiet study, restrooms and a 4,770 square foot adult area.
The new complex will feature an auditorium that could be used by the community for after-hours functions. There is a lot of technology incorporated into the plans, including high-tech meeting rooms, a teen/homework center, and a flexible layout. It will feature much more than books, and could be a gathering spot for the community with lots of resources. Security cameras are not planned to be installed in the library portion of the building.
A new library is needed in part, because the eight municipalities it serves – Kennett Square, East Marlborough, Kennett Township, Newlin, New Garden, Pennsbury, West Marlborough and Pocopson – will see a large spike in population in coming years. According to studies, the population of the eight municipalities the library serves will increase from 44,000 to 50,000 in the next 10 years.
And the library has been extremely popular. In 2015, there were 116,217 visitors, with a collection circulation of 145,556. The Adult Literacy Program offers off-site ESL classes for adults and one-on-one tutoring in the library several times a week. The library offered 155 teen programs last fiscal year and had an average attendance of 20 people at each program.
But to make the plan a reality, money is needed. A feasibility study will be launched in September to determine if enough money can be raised. The library portion will cost about $9 million, meaning about $7 million must be raised because the library has $2 million in assets which include land it owns just outside the borough.
The results of the study will come in November of this year, and if community support exists, a capital campaign will be launched.
Ironically, if the library were to be built in Delaware, the state would fund 90 percent of the project. Still, there are grants available that the library board will pursue.
“This library is 20 years overdue,” Yetter said. “The community has been salivating for it. It’s going to happen. We will have a new library real soon.”