City of West Des Moines issued the following announcement on Aug. 20.
The West Des Moines Public Library, located at 4000 Mills Civic Parkway, will be closed from Monday, August 31, through Wednesday, September 9, reopening on Thursday the 10th.
During that nine-day period, contractors will complete minor punch-list items from earlier work and move on to some bigger projects in what is the third phase of the planned, four-phase renovation.
According to Library Director Darryl Eschete, it won’t be possible to stay open while contractors work. “The lobby floor will be stripped and re-surfaced, the circulation area will be completely repainted and re-carpeted and a new desk will be installed,” Eschete explains. “And there will also be some very noisy and dusty work being done to the first-floor concrete slab.” Due to the disruption, the library will not be offering curbside services.
After the most disruptive and dirtiest work is done during the closure, contractors will continue with phase three for two months, though the work should be more out-of-the way and quieter. In early November, the library will close again to switch over to the fourth and final phase of the renovation, during which the former library cafe on the first floor will be demolished and re-made into a dedicated teen area.
The current West Des Moines Public Library building opened in 1996 as a space shared by the Library and West Des Moines City Government. This arrangement continued until 2002, when the current City Hall at 4200 Mills Civic was completed.
The library renovation, which started in October of 2019, is the first major overhaul of the building since City offices left, and the plans include new public service desks and new work spaces and cubicles for staff. Fresh carpet and paint throughout the building is also part of the plan.
Funding for the estimated $3 million project comes from both public and private sources, including local option sales tax money and a donation of just over $350,000 from the West Des Moines Public Library Friends Foundation.
Contractors and city engineers expect to complete the project in early spring of 2021.
Original source can be found here.
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