The new branch will be on West National Road next to the Legacy at Cyrpess Point Health Campus and near Centennial Park’s baseball field.
The land purchase and development of the new library is all part of the Libraries for a Smarter Future project, made possible by voter support of a $187 million bond issue in 2012, according to Tim Kambitsch, executive director of Dayton Metro Library.
“We have a purchase agreement that is for approximately $55,000 an acre, so we are shooting for 6 acres so you can easily do the math there , but we are going to have to do some surveying and making certain that we get the setbacks because there’s the bike path that is not a part of our property and things like that,” he said. “So, we are pretty close to having that price but until we do our due diligence and finish the other work it won’t be until we get to the closing that we will know what the price is.”
The new library will be more than 50% bigger than the current library at the Englewood Government Center. Ruestchle Architects will design the new building with Shook Construction handling construction management.
MORE: ‘Tricia’s Delicious Cafe’ now open in Dayton
“The location is highly visible from National Road and centrally located to dense population areas in Englewood and Clayton,” Kambitsch said. “It is also well positioned to build on our partnerships with the Northmont City Schools, Sinclair Community College and the YMCA. The city of Northmont has been a great partner in this as our 25-year lease is expiring with them.”
Kambitsch said library patrons will like the scenic view.
“The way the bike path wraps around two sides of the property will give a lot of visibility to what’s going on inside of the library to people on the bike path or on Route 40 there,” Kambitsch said. “When you make these building visible, and they have this kind of civic character to them, that people can see a beacon on the corner, it really draws people in.”
Design work is expected to start in April with construction planned to begin in spring 2021. The new library is expected to take about a year to complete.
Dayton Metro Library considered multiple areas on National Road for the new site and even looked into sharing a space on property owned by Northmont City Schools.
MORE: Dayton Metro Library is hosting a free weekday after-school snack time
About the Author