Newport Council to Vote on Land Deal Clearing Library
City Council members and Irvine Co. representatives are expected to finalize a land swap next week that would allow design work to begin on a $7-million central library for the city.
The firm would give the city four acres of land northeast of the intersection of East Coast Highway and Avocado Avenue on which to build the library, said David Dmohowski, the vice president of entitlement for the Irvine Co. The city would grant the two acres of land it owns in Newport Center to the company to make a total of five acres owned by the firm.
The city would then grant office development rights to the company for all five acres in Newport Center, Dmohowski said. The firm could build a total of 67,000 square feet of office space.
The City Council will vote Monday on whether to finalize the swap and also be asked to approve a contract for design of the 50,000-square-foot library.
The votes will culminate almost three years of talks toward establishing a new central library for the city. City Librarian LaDonna Kienitz said the city has more than outgrown the four branch libraries that now make up the system.
The new library is expected to have more than 200,000 volumes and seating for 200 people.
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