Architects are gathering community feedback to help design a major expansion of Allen Public Library, adding up to 45,000 sq. ft. to the current library location.
Library patrons can contribute to the process by completing a 30-question survey before August 31. Responses will provide critical insight into the community’s desires and preferences for an expanded facility.
Earlier this summer, representatives from Hidell and Associates Architects, Inc. met with an eight-member citizen steering committee and hosted multiple focus groups for library staff. The steering committee is also slated to visit four North Texas libraries which recently underwent expansion/renovation: the Bedford Public Library, the Coppell Public Library, the John and Judy Gay Library in McKinney and the George W. Hawkes Downtown Library in Arlington.
Architects will incorporate results of this feedback when creating the conceptual design of the facility. Floorplans, landscaping and exterior elevations are expected to be presented to Allen City Council by the end of 2021.
Construction of the library expansion is expected to begin in 2022, with project completing in 2023.
Project history
Allen voters approved more than $16 million for library improvements during the 2016 bond election, with a library expansion identified as the primary need to meet anticipated demand of the City’s future population. The 2016 bond program also covered the cost of a previous parking lot expansion which added more than 100 spaces in 2017.
In April 2021, Allen City Council approved an architectural contract with Hidell and Associates Architects, Inc. for conceptual designs, landscaping and building elevations.
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