Officials get sneak peek at new Cook library
As the staff of the Cook Memorial Public Library District's new Aspen Drive Library prepares for its upcoming grand opening, local politicians and other dignitaries on Thursday got a sneak peek of the new $7 million facility.
And when the guests were asked what they liked best about the one-story, brick-and-glass building, the same feature was praised again and again and again: the wall of windows on the east side of the structure and the natural light pouring through the glass.
"This is great," Vernon Hills Village Manager Michael Allison marveled.
"It makes it a marvelous space," Vernon Hills Trustee Jim Schultz said.
The 20,000-square-foot library on Aspen Drive south of Route 60 will open to the public at noon Saturday. A ribbon-cutting ceremony, musical entertainment and other activities are planned.
The building sits on about 3 acres of land donated to the district by Vernon Hills village officials.
Construction began in early 2009.
The Aspen Drive Library replaces a temporary facility that opened in the basement of Vernon Hills' village hall in 2003.
Until the village hall library opened, district residents had only the Libertyville library to use - unless they wanted to travel to a different district's facility.
Countryside Fire Protection District Chief Jeff Steingart, state Sen. Terry Link and state representatives Ed Sullivan Jr. and Carol Sente were among the VIPs who took the tour Thursday. So did Lake County Board member Aaron Lawlor, a former Cook Memorial board president who oversaw the planning for the building.
Vernon Hills Trustee Thomas Koch Jr. particularly admired the new library's large meeting space - which can be divided into two rooms - and the dual study rooms in the building's northeast corner.
"I'm just very impressed with the flexibility of space and all the possibilities (for) use," Koch said.
The project coincided with an expansion and interior renovation of the historic Cook Memorial library building in downtown Libertyville.
That project, which also has a $7 million price tag, is set to wrap up this fall.
Libertyville Mayor Terry Weppler checked out the building Thursday, too. Full of praise, he was thinks the design bodes well for his town's version.
"I think it'll be beautiful," Weppler said. "The Cook board has done a great job."