Hundreds attend Aurora library's groundbreaking ceremony
AURORA – Hundreds of people attended a May 1 groundbreaking ceremony for the Aurora Public Library's new Main Library at the southwest corner of River and Benton streets in downtown Aurora.
The new library is expected to open to the public by late 2014 or early 2015.
The 92,000-square-foot, $28 million Main Library is being built on a parcel of land that was purchased by the library in 2009. The site was the home of The Beacon-News from April 1953 until March 2008.
“This facility will give our students opportunities to collaborate face-to-face, providing new opportunities for exploration and growth,” said U.S. Rep. Bill Foster (D-Naperville), who spoke at the event.
Preschool and kindergarten students from SciTech Discovery Preschool, located between the current library and the new library, entertained the crowd with a song.
The Aurora Public Library Bookmobile was on hand to conduct storytimes after the groundbreaking. Construction management firm R.C. Wegman dumped a load of sand onto the property so children could search for "gold" coins that they could trade in for prizes. Giveaways included fortune cookies and chocolate chip cookies from businesses located across the street from the building site, and bruschetta from Aliano's Ristorante, which is in the process of opening a restaurant in downtown Aurora.
Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White visited Aurora Public Library on March 4 to present a symbolic check for $10.8 million in grant funds to library and city representatives. The entire grant amount has been applied to the $28 million cost of the new downtown library.
The current Main Library opened in 1904 and was built with a $50,000 grant from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
The new Main Library will feature state-of-the-art materials handling technology, expanded space for programs for children and teens, a dedicated space for experimentation with new technology, and areas for the public to gather. As a LEED-certified building, it has been designed to reduce waste, conserve energy and water and lower operating costs.
The architectural firm on the project is Cordogan Clark & Associates. Joining that firm on the project are: R.C. Wegman Construction Company as the construction management firm; Schoppe Design Associates as the landscape architect; KDI Design Interiors as the interior design firm; Outsource Solutions Group, Inc., as the technology design consultant and Horizon Engineering Associates as the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) commissioning agent. Owner's representative on the project is Barbara Kattermann.
Branch locations on the east and west sides of Aurora also will receive significant upgrades as part of a bond issue approved by the Aurora City Council in April, 2012.