A number of local political figures, a sunny day and a large crowd excited about what's in store for downtown Dexter highlighted Satur-day's ground-breaking ceremony for the new Dexter District Library.
State Rep. Pam Byrnes (D-District 52) and Washtenaw County Commissioner Mark Ouimet (R-District 1) were on hand for the 12:30 p.m. celebration at the downtown construction site, 3255 Alpine St.
Library staff, led by Library Director Paul McCann, and representatives from Holzheimer, Bolek Architects of Chagrin Falls, Ohio and O'Neal Construction of Ann Arbor also were on hand.
"We were real happy to get to this point with the groundbreaking ceremony," McCann said. "It gets things under way and we're really looking forward to having a meeting with the village, getting the equipment out there and start working."
More than 100 members of the community, including children and adults, came out to see the project's ceremonial beginning, McCann said.
This project has been in the works since 2004, after voters passed a $7.8 million bond for the new library building in 2005, but other attempts date back years earlier.
"The idea started in 2000," said McCann. "We had a bond issue that failed in 2002 and between then and 2005 we went back to the community and held a lot of public forums and focus groups to address the issues."
According to McCann, location was a determining factor, since much of the community wanted to see the library built in the downtown area and integrated into its architectural atmosphere.
The previously proposed location was on North Parker Road, near Dexter High School.
"We had to look hard for a suitable location downtown and the Alpine Street location came out as a possibility over time," McCann said. "There was a fairly good consensus that the library needed to expand; we just needed time to get community input."
The building will have one level below ground and two above, according to McCann, who added that all levels will have views of the nearby park grounds and Mill Creek. Such features were a project "must," he said.
Architect Peter Bolek described what visitors will see upon entering the new building as a transition.
"We worked with the fabric of the downtown — the historic nature of the storefronts and the main street and brought that into the design," Bolek said. "It will have a traditional appearance that is reflective of the historic downtown. As people enter the building they will experience that historic form shifting to a more contemporary form.
"Once they enter the library they will experience a state-of-the-art library, with soft seating areas and easy access to the collection."
According to Bolek, completion is anticipated in 12 to 16 months, barring any complications.
"We've projecting mid-2008," Bolek said. "We are entering the visible phase. Now people are going to be able to start seeing this thing come out of the ground."
Space concerns were the major impetus for the project, according to McCann, who said that the new building will provide 25,000 square feet of space — more than five times that of the current 4,200 square foot building at 8040 Fourth St.
"Half of the project is to make space for things that we do not have sufficient space for here," McCann said. "Study space is limited, (as are) areas for adults and students to sit down and read books and do homework. Public computer space is extremely limited."
The new building will solve many of these problems, in addition to providing dedicated space to the library's Story Time programs, which are quite popular, with 2,500 children registered each year.
"That's in a meeting room right now, where we have to move furniture," McCann said, noting several upcoming programs that could use the additional space now, such as the summer reading program kickoff party at 11 a.m. June 15. It will be the first day that kids can sign up for the reading program, which runs until July 30.
"When we do programs here we have to dismantle significant parts of the library," McCann said. "We even have some shelves on wheels. We borrow tents from the Dexter Fire Fighter's Association for outdoor programs."
According to McCann the staff makes due for now, but everyone is looking forward to having a little more breathing room.
This will not be the first time that the library has needed to expand.
It once called a house on Baker Road home. It was a 1,200-square-foot building that had about 800 square feet of public library space on the ground floor.
"There was no elevator in the building so it wasn't accessible," McCann said.
The Fourth Street building was built in 1954 and purchased by the library in 1995.
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