Aurora Public Library buying itself a $3.2 million present

Rarely does a holiday gift wish list remain unchanged for more than a decade.

But a site for a new facility has remained atop Aurora Public Library's agenda for all that time and on Dec. 22 officials hope to tear the wrapping paper off a building at 101 S. River Road and call it their own.

After receiving approval from the city council to transfer money from the library's reserve fund to its operating budget, Director Eva Luckinbill said Wednesday the library intends to close on a $3.2 million deal for the former Beacon-News facility by Tuesday.

Three smaller nearby lots are included in the negotiations to make sure the site provides enough space for both the library and parking, officials said.

Luckinbill said the library, which is primarily funded by property taxes, saved the money earlier in the decade when new home construction was booming.

"The current economic climate is certainly a buyer's market," she said. "As good stewards of the taxpayers' investment, it made sense to move on this opportunity now."

She said the library has long outgrown the current site at 1 E. Benton St. and needs a bigger footprint to build a library and cultural center "fitting of the state's second-largest city."

With more than 63,000 residents holding library cards, visits to the library have climbed to more than 30,000 per month at the main building.

As part of the purchase agreement with developer Joe Vantreese, Luckinbill said Vantreese will demolish the building in the coming weeks, backfill it and reseed it so the property will not be a liability until the library board can afford to build.

"This purchase is just the first step in a multiyear process," Luckinbill said. "With the location and lot size determined, we can now enter into the more exciting planning phase of the building."

The Library Foundation has adopted the theme "Imagine the Possibilities" as it begins to develop plans for what it hopes will be a "21st-century community resource."

Funding the construction of the facility may eventually lead to the board seeking a bond issue, but Luckinbill said she can't imagine not having citywide support.

"I have to say I'm already very gratified that 99 percent of the feedback has been positive," she said. "It's clear that support for the idea is there and that makes it easier to enter the planning phase knowing a good portion of the community is behind this."