WOODBOURNE LIBRARY OPEN AFTER $5M RENOVATION
More than 2,400 guests stop by to check out the improved facilities.
Sunday marked CENTERVILLE — the public grand opening for the Woodbourne Library in Centerville following a three-year renovation plan that has expanded the facility while maintaining its feel, officials said.
The plan added an additional 10,000 square feet to the existing 21,000-square-foot site at 6060 Far Hills Ave.
“We had a tremendous outpouring of community support at (Sunday’s) public grand opening,” said Georgia Mergler, the library’s community relations manager. “More than 2,400 citizens turned out to rediscover the expanded and renovated Woodbourne Library.”
She said that the renovation will provide more opportunities for active spaces and learning programs and will have more space for traditional library services.
In 2015, the library board of trustees approved a more than $5 million master plan that merged the Woodbourne Library property and the two adjacent properties to the north into a single library campus.
Developed by LWC Incorporated with feedback from a series of community forums, the library was temporarily shut down in December 2016 and has been expanded by approximately 10,000 square feet and renovated.
Officials wanted to keep the feel of the library’s original 1965 design while updating it for current trends, said Kim Senft-Paras, director, Washington-Centerville Public Library.
Additions include a new children’s space, creativity center, meeting and program rooms.
“We could not be happier with the expansion and renovation,” said Carol Herrick, library trustees board president. “The new features of the library and the warm interior really capture what citizens wanted, while retaining the signature mid-century modern history of the building. We are excited for citizens to rediscover Woodbourne Library.”