City officials break ground on a $25M Bloomington Library expansion

Posted on June 2, 2022
City officials including Bloomington Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe (far right) broke ground on the expansion on Thursday. (Photo courtesy: City of Bloomington/Facebook)

By Blake Haas

BLOOMINGTON – At the tune of $25 million, public officials and the members of the Bloomington Public Library broke ground on a new expansion.

Renovation and expansion of the library will add more than 21,300 square feet to the library’s current footprint.

In addition, the library is renovating over 57,000 square feet of existing space and increasing parking by 90 spaces.

The $25 million in renovations comes from grants from the state, over $4 million in library reserve funds, over $14 million in bonds, and $1.2 million in donations from the community.

Phase one of the project – the renovation of the west half of the building, is expected to be finished in May of next year.

The second phase – the renovation of the east half of the building, is expected to wrap up by September 2023.

Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].

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