Decision looms for controversial new library
NEW CANAAN — The next chapter for the New Canaan Library could be written in the next week.
The town’s $10 million contribution toward the planned construction of a new $35 million library building will be discussed by the Board of Finance at 7 p.m. Tuesday and by the Town Council at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Both meetings will be conducted via Zoom.
The proposed 48,000-square-foot new building at Maple Street and South Avenue “will reflect New Canaan’s unique mid-century modern architectural heritage,” officials said. “Designed to be a true cultural campus, it will replace the current outdated and failing structure with a large, airy, 21st-century library incorporating the newest technology and sustainable design.”
Highlights of the new building would include a public concourse with a café and art gallery as well as a greatly expanded children’s room. Its large entertainment wing would feature a contemporary auditorium space with flexible seating for 300, while a MakerLab and STEAM learning center would be equipped with the latest cutting-edge components.
There would be a new business center and Teen Library as well as many quiet work spaces and enclosed meeting rooms and conference rooms for public use. Additionally, a new outdoor terrace would be available for public and private use.
“This new building will mark the beginning of a dynamic new chapter in (the) New Canaan Library’s long history,” said Alicia Wyckoff, chairman of the Capital Campaign Committee. “We are thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive response we have received so far and appreciate the generosity of so many of our town residents.”
The library has already collected $16 million in cash and pledges for the new building, Director Lisa Oldham said this week. In a list of questions and answers distributed by the library, officials said of the town’s contribution: “An investment from the town will significantly accelerate the construction timeframe. As an investor in the new library, the town will be provide appropriate public funding for this important civic asset.”
The plan is to break ground in spring 2021. The construction, which is expected to last 18 to 24 months, calls for building the new structure before the current one is demolished so that the library will operate continuously.
The site for the new building is currently a library parking lot.
However, as drawings were presented last winter, objections were raised to plans to demolish the 1913 library building, and a group, Friends of the 1913 Library, is working to save that building.
The site of the 1913 building would become a town green in the plans for the new New Canaan Library. Efforts to save the building have resulted in discussions of moving it elsewhere on the property, elsewhere in town, or finding an alternate use for it.
Library renovations
Libraries in Darien and Westport have undergone renovations, with work underway at the Greenwich Library.
“In fact, almost every town in Connecticut has invested in its library in the past 40 years,” according to the statement. “This is the first time since 1979 that (the) New Canaan Library has undergone any significant improvement.”
“The limitations of the old library building have been holding us back from delivering the level of service our community expects,” Oldham said. “Our brand new LEED-certified, leading-edge library will meet the needs of our town for generations to come.”
The new home for the New Canaan Library “will be a vibrant landmark that will enhance the community culturally, economically and socially,” said Bob Butman, president of the New Canaan Library Board of Trustees. “Our town deserves a state-of-the-art library, and we can’t wait for it to take shape.”
The current library has also dealt with flooding that has damaged walls on its lower level, needs a roof and is an amalgamation of several designs, according to those raising money for the new building. The proposal follows “more than eight years of careful research and community feedback.”
Plans for the new facility, described as a “state-of-the-art building designed to be the center of community learning,” include repurposing the land on which the library currently sits into a new town green — a 1-acre public outdoor space ideal for hosting concerts, theater, book groups and other cultural events, providing a new public gathering park right in the heart of downtown.
“The excitement over a new library building has been growing for some time, and we’re delighted to now be able to share our plans with the public,” Oldham said in a statement. “Our new building design will not only be environmentally friendly, it will have flexible, light-filled spaces and innovative services that will promote lifelong learning and enhance community life.”