Premier Gordon Campbell announced 173 stimulus projects across the province, and a brand new Central Library in Surrey’s City Centre was one of the many selected for funding.
The $30 million project will be cost-shared three ways between the federal, provincial, and municipal governments.
According to the Surrey Leader, the Library will be an estimated 65,000 sq. ft. and located near Surrey’s new city hall and Central City tower. At such a size, the new Central library would more than double the existing Central branch in Guildford, which, with two storeys, is 25,000 sq. ft. The Cloverdale, Fleetwood, and Newton branches are around 14,000 sq. ft., while the newest branch, Semiahmoo, is 22,000 sq. ft.
The massive Central Library in downtown Vancouver, which takes up an entire city block, and is 9 storeys tall, features 398,000 sq. ft.
The Surrey Leader also reports that construction is slated to start soon.
It is unknown at this time whether the library will be part of the Civic Centre development currently in the design stages, or a completely separate project.
The cost-sharing agreement will save the City millions of dollars, as it will no longer bear the entire cost of the project. In its Five-Year Financial Plan, the City has estimated it will spend $136.4 million on the various Civic Centre projects.
Excellent news! thanks for sharing this. Central City needs a good library, and I feel that it is a vital component to building a vibrant community. It will be nice to have a good library a short walk from my house.
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