Warren-Newport library planning for growth

Potential residential growth and a need for more shelf space are prompting a planned expansion to nearly double the size of Warren-Newport Public Library District's building in Gurnee.

Library Director Stephen Bero said a new facility west of the Tri-State Tollway was considered, but community feedback in a survey suggested a preference for expanding the structure on O'Plaine Road just north of Washington Street on the village's southeast side.

Bero said a tentative $12 million budget has been established for the project, but precise costs won't be known until the design phase is finished. How the construction would be paid for has yet to be decided.

Warren-Newport officials will try to negotiate a contract with Chicago-based architecture firm NagleHartrayDankerKaganMcKayPenney Ltd. to produce a building design. Warren-Newport library board members last week interviewed representatives from six firms before deciding to pursue a deal with NagleHartray.

NagleHartray's public sector portfolio includes the Lincolnshire village hall, Oak Park Public Library and Bartlett village hall.

Preliminary plans call for construction on the Warren-Newport building expansion to begin in March 2010, with completion by spring 2011.

"It is kind of an ambitious schedule right now," Bero said Tuesday. "That's why we want to get the design finished."

Warren-Newport's library spans about 51,000 square feet and was last expanded in 1997, but officials say it has structural problems. Of three preliminary expansion options that have been presented, library board members have honed in on the one calling for a 49,024-square-foot, two-story addition in an effort to preserve parking and green space on the property.

In a December 2008 report, Gilfillan Callahan Nelson Architects of Rolling Meadows stated the two-story addition would provide extra shelf space and significantly more room for staff to accommodate a population base projected to grow by 2018. The company's top-of-the-line plan calls a 63,535-square-foot expansion.

Bero said there is plenty of room for more homes to be built within the library district. Those spots include the Old Mill Creek area north of Gurnee Mills near Route 45 in Warren Township, and north of Wadsworth in Newport Township.

All or most of Warren and Newport townships, including Gurnee, Wadsworth, Park City, Wildwood, Grandwood Park, Old Mill Creek and Grayslake, are part of the library district. About 58,000 residents live in the district.