Work begins on new Fox Lake library

Machines are tearing up the earth around the Fox Lake Library as construction continues on the new $15.6 million building on Grand Avenue.

The 45,000-square-foot, two-story facility at 255 E. Grand Ave. will be completed in fall 2010, barring major construction delays, said library executive director Harry Bork.

"The first phase will be done in March, then the rest will be completed in the fall," Bork said. Officials broke ground on the new site March 5, and spent the last month digging up the 1.5 acres around the existing library building.

The first phase of construction will be the main portion of the library, Bork said, and will be built around the smaller, existing library. Officials will close the old library for three weeks next March to move into the new facility, he said. After the move is completed, the older building will be demolished, and crews will finish work on the final wing of the new facility.

"The construction managers are very pleased with the progress shown so far," Bork said. "Things seem to have progressed well at this point." The new library was funded when voters approved a spring 2008 referendum.

The library started in a small lumber yard office when it opened in 1939. The district includes a population of 18,533 mostly in Fox Lake, Ingleside, Lakemoor, McHenry, parts of Round Lake, and Spring Grove.

The new two-story, building will feature a large meeting room, a cyber cafe with wireless Internet access, a children's activity center, a young adult area, quiet reading rooms and an outdoor story garden. People can view progress of the project by logging onto the library district Web site at fllib.org.