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November 4, 2020

The 17,000-square-foot addition to the Huntley Area Public Library appears nearly done from the outside, although work continues on the inside of the $12.9 million project. When it is completed next spring, the contents of the library building will be moved into the addition to allow for renovation of the original structure.
Gavin Maliska
The 17,000-square-foot addition to the Huntley Area Public Library appears nearly done from the outside, although work continues on the inside of the $12.9 million project. When it is completed next spring, the contents of the library building will be moved into the addition to allow for renovation of the original structure.

News • November 4, 2020

Library addition progressing toward a 2022 opening

By

HUNTLEY – The addition to the Huntley Area Public Library is looking more and more like a building from the outside, although the 17,000-square-foot space still has a long way to go.

“We’re just finishing phase one, and phase one is the addition,” said Doug Cataldo, library spokesperson. The parking lot has been paved and striped in the past week, and If construction stays on schedule, the addition could be occupied by spring of next year. That won’t be the end of the project, however, only the middle, as the second phase involves renovations to the existing library building.

In March 2020, just before the coronavirus grew to the crisis stage, the $12.9 million project began with the demolition of three trailers that had served as the children’s library, with all the materials moved into the main building during what library workers call “the big smush,” Cataldo said.

When the addition is done next spring, plans call for all of the books, materials, shelving and furniture to be moved into the new building to allow construction to begin of such things as special seating around the fireplace, rebuilding the circulation offices to allow for drive-through book returns, and other improvements, Cataldo said. The staff is calling that “the big smush, part two,” he said.

Renovation to the main building should take up the rest of 2021, with materials finally finding their permanent home with completion of the project at the beginning of 2022, Cataldo said.

With the additional space, improvements in the building will increase efficiencies in using the library and working there, but Cataldo said the plans have paid close attention to the unique design of the original building to guarantee “it kept its charm.”