A new library is under construction in downtown Anchorage. At the groundbreaking Tuesday, Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance said the project is part of a push to revitalize the area.
"Project by project, we are making real progress," she said. "We are creating the safe, vibrant and welcoming downtown our community deserves."
The new library is expected to open this winter in the fire engine bay at the Historic City Hall building on F Street. There's a reason for that location, according to City Manager Bill Falsey.
"It turns out that books are heavy, and placing them in other portions of city hall was actually structurally more challenging," he said. "So the old fire station is now home to the downtown library."
It'll be the smallest library in the city. Three mayoral administrations have worked toward opening it, after longtime resident Janet Goetz left more than $7 million in her will specifically to pay for a library in part of the city's historic downtown. The money will fund operating costs for at least the next 12 years.
The Anchorage Library Foundation is using a $2.5 million COVID relief grant to fund construction. Anchorage Public Library Director Marjorie Harrison said that's possible because the grant must be used to extend internet access. The library will have wifi and computers with internet.
The building will not have designated parking, Harrison said. She anticipates that the library will be used by people who are already downtown for other reasons.
"We're focusing it on being more of a walking area," she said. "People who come downtown, they park, and so if they're shopping, they shop, they come visit us."
Drivers must pay to park downtown, and a recent study shows downtown is the only area of the city with some parking congestion. Harrison said the library will look at possible solutions if parking does become an issue.
The library will have a meeting space. Plus, Harrison said, it will have a collection of Alaska-focused books, partly because the city expects tourists to visit.
Harrison said the library will also have security on hand like other locations. But unlike other places, the bathrooms will be monitored by staff.
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