New library plans excite Sugar Grove

The Sugar Grove village board gave the library district approval on Tuesday to move ahead with plans to build a 27,800-square-foot, $8 million library on 5 acres on Municipal Drive just south of Route 30 in the Prairie Glen subdivision.

It was the first time the board had formally reviewed the plans and the response was favorable. The plans were presented by John Cordogan of Cordogan, Clark and Associates, the library's architect.

"I'm really excited," said trustee Mari Johnson. "It fits into the location and I think it will be the cornerstone of the community."

"I like the plan, and I look forward to seeing it approved," said trustee Kevin Geary.

The plans will go before the planning commission as early as next month. Building will begin in the spring, and the library is expected to be ready for occupancy by September 2009. Voters approved $8 million in construction bonds in November 2004.

It was expected that land for the new library would be donated, but the library board chose to purchase land in the Prairie Glen subdivision for $985,000 when offers in other developments fell through. The board chose the site over 7 acres of undeveloped land on Main Street just north of Prairie Street offered by the family of Jerry Rich of Rich Harvest Farms.

"We've redesigned the building and shrunk it by 5,000 square feet to accommodate the cost of the land," Cordogan told the board. "But we've kept all the elements of the original design."

The new library will include a 1,045-square-foot lobby, a 6,395-square-foot adult services area and a 3,800-square-foot youth services area.

There will be a community meeting room, offices and areas for circulation and technical support.

Special features include a covered porch near the main entrance, which will be adjacent to a coffee bar and cafe; a quiet reading room with a fireplace; an "all-weather" porch, which will be enclosed; and an outdoor public patio and a staff patio.

Landscaping calls for fruit trees, evergreen trees and sugar maples.

In other business, the board approved an agreement with Engineering Enterprises for phase II of the Municipal Drive and Galena Boulevard extensions and improvements with traffic signals to the intersection of Route 47 and Galena Boulevard. Construction costs of phase II are estimated at $7,417,820.