Algonquin library renovation, expansion to begin this summer

The Algonquin Area Public Library is gearing up to break ground this summer on a multimillion-dollar expansion and renovation.

The project, in the planning phase for more than a year, will allow the library to offer its patrons upgraded amenities, such as a computer lab, a teen space, more study areas, meeting rooms, improved staff offices, a larger children's area and a "makerspace" for do-it-yourself projects, Executive Director Stephen Bero said.

The library board this week awarded contracts for the roughly $6.7 million makeover, but the total price tag is about $800,000 below initial projections.

Construction on is expected to begin Aug. 7 at the main library, 2600 Harnish Drive, and will likely take a year to complete, Bero said.

"We had to move quickly and hit our marks over the last several months to essentially reach the climactic moment (of) awarding the contracts," he said. "Now we're off to the races, so to speak."

Trustees will soon decide how much of the library's more than $4 million in reserves should be spent on the project. Whatever costs remain would be borrowed and paid off over time without negatively affecting operating expenses, Bero said.

Because construction bids came in under budget, he added, the district's debt service will likely be lower than anticipated. About $400,000 has already been spent on design phases and other preliminary work.

"We are in a very, very good position," Bero said. "We can breathe a little easier."

The project will create about 8,000 square feet of new space at the main library by adding a wing to the northeast side of the 35,000-square-foot building. Construction is expected to block a portion of the library's parking lot, particularly the area used by staff, but Bero says no other services should be affected.

Plans also include an interior renovation at the district's branch library, 115 Eastgate Drive. Work on that segment of the project - making up about $245,700 of total project costs - will begin next spring, Bero said.

"We will be meeting all the needs of the public that we have identified, as well as making our staff spaces more efficient," he said. "We're satisfied with where we are right now."