By Jamie Goldstein, Capitola City Manager
On November 9, at 11 a.m., the City of Capitola will break ground for the new Capitola Branch Library. This 11,700-square-foot, state-of-the-art library building will replace the City’s old 4,500-square-foot library, which has been housed in modular units since 1999.
The City’s effort to build a permanent library has been a multi-generational effort. Since 1981, when the City’s original library closed, the City has sought to establish a permanent home for the cultural and learning opportunities a library offers our community.
With the passage of Measure S in 2016, the City finally had the resources to begin plans to replace the undersized and outdated facility at the corner of Wharf Road and Clares Street. The new library, which will be at the same location, will include a community room, children’s wing, outdoor reading deck and an innovative space for teens.
Community support for the new library has truly been overwhelming. In addition to the support from Measure S, a fund-raising campaign led by local residents has raised more than $545,000 to help build the new library. Those funds will be instrumental in outfitting our new library to serve the community well into the future after it opens in 2020.
As Capitola Mayor Michael Termini said about Capitola’s new library, “A library is really a community’s heart – place of learning, opportunity and access to technology for everyone from our youngest residents to seniors. Our new library will help grow the spirit of Capitola for generations to come.”
Join the community in kicking off construction of our new library during the November 9 groundbreaking ceremony. The event will include comments from the Mayor of Capitola and Friends of Capitola Library along with acknowledgement of major donors.
In addition, the groundbreaking will kick off the public fundraising campaign for our library that includes the “Pave the Way” program, an exciting opportunity open to everyone to purchase and inscribe a paver with individual, family or business names or short messages to memorialize or inspire. The pavers are available in three sizes and will be installed on the pathway leading to the main entry door.
More details are available at www.capitolalibraryfriends.org. Those funds will be used to help enhance this once-in-a-lifetime public building that will serve our community long into the future.
If you do plan to attend the groundbreaking event, consider carpooling or using alternate transportation as on-site parking will be limited.
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Project Details — Building owner: City of Capitola • Library operator: Santa Cruz Public Libraries • Architect: Noll & Tam Architects • Landscape Architect: Joni L Janecki and Associates • Contractor: Otto Construction • Project Manager: Bogard Construction