New library in Fort Bend County will open Dec. 18
Fort Bend County Libraries’ newly constructed Fulshear Branch Library will welcome its first readers Dec. 18.
Located at 6350 GM Library Road off Texas Heritage Parkway, the new library is replacing the permanently closed Bob Lutts Fulshear/Simonton Branch Library, which had outgrown its space.
“It’s been a long time coming, but we’re very excited to finally open the doors, welcome everyone in, and show off this wonderful new building, even if everything is not completely set up yet,” library director Clara Russell said in a statement.
The construction of the new building started in summer 2021 and was originally expected to conclude by this summer. However unforeseen challenges arose, resulting in delays to the opening date.
“It is considerably larger than the old building so we have much more space to work with, and we look forward to unveiling the full extent of the wonderful offerings we have in store for the public when we have the grand opening in January,” Russell said.
Library staff recently gained access to the building and have been “working feverishly” to make the library ready for the “soft opening” this month, Russell said.
Occupying four times the area of the library it is replacing, the Fulshear Branch Library features more open spaces, natural lighting, an outdoor patio, study rooms and a computer lab with 176 computers, according to the library system.
There will be an area for young people featuring interactive gaming tables and musical instruments.
“We’ll be opening in December with the most basic essentials for a library, so we ask for everyone’s patience while we work to complete the transformation over the next few weeks in preparation for the grand opening celebration,” Russell said. “Even with the rough patches, I think we’re going to be in good shape when we open those doors.”
The $13.4 million Fulshear Branch Library is part of a $19.8 million bond referendum approved by voters in November 2015. The land for the library was donated by the Ginter family.