Newport Beach : Officials Move Ahead on Plans for New Library
Newport Beach officials are moving ahead with plans to build a $7-million central library just north of the proposed site of the new Newport Harbor Art Museum.
The City Council voted unanimously Monday night to go ahead with the project. The building is planned for completion sometime in 1992 and will replace the existing central library at 856 San Clemente Drive.
LaDonna Kienitz, city librarian, said the 50,000-square-foot building will be built on a four-acre site at MacArthur Boulevard and Coast Highway, just north of the museum site. The present library has only 14,000 square feet, she said.
“Now, we have books on the floors at one of the branches,” Kienitz said. “And we’ve had complaints from patrons that there’s no place to sit down.” Kienitz said the fund-raising arm of the library plans to raise an additional $1 million for construction to upgrade the facilities.
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