After being closed in April of 2008 due to high levels of leaded paint, the North Park Branch of the Erie County Public Library will be taking up residence in the northwest corner of the K-Mart Plaza at 975 Hertel Avenue.
The move is a short distance from the library’s current location at 2351 Delaware at Hertel, and will serve the same neighborhood it did before the closing. When complete, the City will have spent a total of $156K for reconstruction of the temporary 4,000 sq. ft. facility, that will feature 2 dozen computers and extended hours until 8PM on Fridays. It is scheduled to open September 19th. The rental cost to the City is just over $3.1K per month in a five-year lease that totals around $188K. The building is owned by Delaware Management.
The former North Park Branch, on the northeast corner of Delaware and Hertel is expected to cost $900K in remediation efforts, and the City may be looking into the possibility of selling the property. The North Park Library is roughly 2 miles from the now defunct Fairfield Library site.
Image: Mayor Brown in the new facility with county, city and library officials.