This story appeared as part of the 2010 Year In Review issue. The Daily Tar Heel resumes publication Jan. 10.
After battling a space constraint for 16 years, the Chapel Hill Public Library could soon find room to expand by moving to a local shopping center.
The Chapel Hill Town Council instituted a 60-day moratorium on the plans to expand the 100 Library Drive building at its Nov. 22 meeting after the owners of University Mall — Madison Marquette — offered to house the library permanently.
The town created committees of mall, library and town officials to look at the economic, business, design and public participation aspects of the move.
The council will check in with the committees’ findings at its Jan. 10 meeting. If it looks like the project is still worth pursuing, they will continue researching the issue for another 30 days, said Library Director Kathleen Thompson.
Council member Penny Rich said the move to University Mall could save tax payers $5 million to $6 million.
Thompson said the current library has always been strained for space. A 1994 building program recommended it be 68,000 square feet, but the building currently stands at 27,000 square feet.
Thompson said she never expected library traffic to grow as it did — reaching a circulation of more than one million items in 2009.
In June, the town approved the library’s expansion as part of the 2010-2011 fiscal budget. The plan required an18-month construction period during which the library would operate out of University Mall.
“We discussed the library for a good six months before putting it to a vote because the county wasn’t giving us enough money,” Rich said. “Finally we said, ‘This is what the people voted for. They want a new library.’”
The new proposal, which comes after months of lease negotiations, would have the library housed in the current Dillard’s location.
Mayor Pro Tem Jim Ward said the new building would be much more accessible to residents because of its parking space and access to public transportation.
“I really feel that having the town’s library be one of the anchors of the mall would make the retailers at the mall be even more likely to succeed,” he said.
But Rich said convincing people an urban mall setting is appropriate for a library could be a difficult task. And although the mall announced Dillard’s has made no agreement to vacate its space, plans are still moving forward.
“We’re really pushing the staff to do this analysis in a timely manner and right through the holidays, too,” Rich said. “It’s not the best time but we think it’ll get done.”
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