[/caption] The County Board of Supervisors approved plans to continue to issue funds for the Gainesville Community Library at its Jan. 17 board meeting.
The new community library, which is now expected to open in 2015, has been proposed as a 20,000 square foot complex to serve 60,000 people in the Gainesville area and replace the smaller Gainesville Neighborhood Library located at James S. Long Park along the James Madison Highway in Haymarket.
The new library will also have a Haymarket address as Dominion Valley has donated land for the project on the corner of the James Madison Highway (Route 15) and Lightner Road.
Total cost to the county is estimated at $10 million dollars. It includes construction, technology, furniture, books and other media. According to Gainesville District Supervisor Peter Candland, they have been able to cut the budget in half.
“We learned in (Jan 17's) Board meeting that this project is coming in more than $10 million under budget, which is great news to all taxpayer," said Candland who said he will continue to look for additional cost savings.
The library is also progressing months ahead of schedule, according to Dick Murphy, library system director for Prince William County Libraries. Currently the project is in the design phase. Developers will break ground on the project within the next 12-18 months. Once construction begins Murphy expect it will take another 18 months to complete.
Originally proposed in the mid 1990s, the Gainesville library was taken off the table several times, when the economy went into recession. However, according to Murphy, Prince William County’s comprehensive plan required they build a new library every few years in correlation with population growth. The Gainesville area has seen tremendous population growth without a suitably sized facility. To save cost the neighborhood library at Long Park library has only been opened part-time over the past few years, creating additional inconvenience for Gainesville residents.
The new library both seeks serve growing population and provide a more modern, state of the art facility with a community meeting room and children's library.
“On the inside it will be very modern, very open, provide a lot of flexible space, provide Wi-Fi service, a lot more table space and a lot of computer access,” said Murphy.
The exterior of the building will to match the architectural style of the community.
Supervisor Candland said he has offered his continuing support for the creation of the Gainesville Community Library.
“As a father of four young children, I know firsthand that easy access to libraries and reading materials are crucial to the educational development of our next generation. I believe that this library will continue to portray Western Prince William County as a premier place to live and do business," Candland said.
The library at Long Park will close upon opening of the Gainesville Community Library, the building will be turned back over to the Prince William County Park Authority, and the library's small staff will be transferred to the new location. The county is also budgeting for the hiring of new employees.
Once opened, the Gainesville Community Library operate during the hours of 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mon. through Thurs.; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fri. and Sat.; and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sun. during the school year.
Bristow residents living near Route 29 may find the location of the library convenient; however the Bull Run Regional Library on Ashton Avenue in Manassas and Nokesville Neighborhood Library on Fitzwater Drive in Nokesville are probably closer to home for most residents.
Besides plans for the Gainesville Community Library, the county has also approved plans to create a second community library in the Montclair neighborhood in Dumfries on the eastern end of the county.
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